State Regulators Release Mortgage Licensing Data Collected by NMLS; Reveals Mortgage Industry Remains Small Business Oriented
Washington, D.C. – August 31, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has released its first and second quarter data for state-licensed mortgage companies, branches, and individuals in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry (NMLS)—a mortgage licensing system owned and operated by state regulators.
While there are multi-state companies that operate on a regional and nationwide basis, first and second quarter 2011 data revealed, by-and-large, that most state-licensed mortgage entities are local, small business-oriented companies. Approximately 83 percent of companies licensed through NMLS operate in only one state and employ one to five mortgage loan originators. Additionally, 87 percent of these companies have only a single location. Data for individual mortgage loan originators reflected similar trends, with 80 percent of state-licensed individuals operating in a single state.
“Thanks to NMLS, state regulators have access, for the first time, to comprehensive data that provide a better understanding of the industry from a nationwide and state-by-state vantage point,” said Gavin Gee, Idaho Director of Finance and Chairman of the State Regulatory Registry LLC, the subsidiary of CSBS that operates NMLS on behalf of state regulators. “Access to this data provides the industry, regulators, and policymakers with an unprecedented level of detail about the state-licensed residential mortgage industry.”
Highlights of Q1 and Q2 2011 reports include:
- The mortgage industry at the state level is growing, and remains very localized;
- There were 16,153 state-licensed mortgage companies with 30,945 licenses in NMLS at the end of Q2, up from 14,980 state-licensed mortgage companies with 28,415 licenses in Q1;
- There were 106,881 state-licensed mortgage loan originators with 201,469 licenses in NMLS at the end of Q2, up from 100,098 state-licensed mortgage loan originators with 182,880 licenses in Q1;
- State mortgage regulators approved 28,507 and 20,062 individual mortgage loan originator applications in Q1 and Q2; and
- Business activities for state-licensed companies is primarily broker-related: 89% conduct first mortgage loan brokering activities, while only 22% conduct first mortgage lending activities.
The NMLS first and second quarter report is available here.
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The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization for state bank regulation, representing the bank regulators of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. State authorities supervise approximately 6,000 state?chartered financial institutions. Further, the majority of state banking departments also oversee mortgage providers and other financial service providers. CSBS is also responsible for improving the quality of state bank supervision by providing performance evaluation and accreditation programs for the banking departments, as well as supervisory education and training programs for state personnel.
The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry is owned and operated by State Regulatory Registry LLC. CSBS in cooperation with the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) established the State Regulatory Registry LLC (SRR) on September 29, 2006. A limited-liability company, SRR is to develop and operate nationwide systems for state regulators in the financial services industry. Such systems are intended to enhance state’s ability to protect consumers; improve supervision and enforcement of licensed entities; and streamline licensing and other processes for state agencies and the industry through the use of modern technology and centralizing redundant state agency operations.
NMLS is a web-based system that allows state-licensed mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and loan officers to apply for, amend, update or renew a license online for all states using a single set of uniform applications. NMLS began operation on January 2, 2008. Further, passage of the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 requires all mortgage loan originators (MLOs) to be registered or state-licensed through NMLS. MLOs employed by insured depository institutions and subsidiaries are to be registered, and all other MLOs are to be licensed by state mortgage regulators. Federal depository regulators have indicated that MLOs could begin registering on NMLS in January 2011.
