Bill Text: IL HB2325 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Chaptered

---

Bill Title: Amends the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987. Provides that each full service office (rather than office, place of business, or location) at which a residential mortgage licensee conducts any part of his or her business must be recorded with the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation. Provides that licensees may allow mortgage loan originators to work from a remote location if specified conditions are met. Provides that "full service office" does not include a remote location. Defines "remote location".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-30 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0156 [HB2325 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2325-Chaptered.html

---

Public Act 103-0156
HB2325 Enrolled LRB103 26311 BMS 52672 b
AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 is
amended by changing Sections 1-3 and 1-4 and by adding Section
3-11 as follows:
(205 ILCS 635/1-3) (from Ch. 17, par. 2321-3)
Sec. 1-3. Necessity for license; scope of Act.
(a) No person, partnership, association, corporation or
other entity shall engage in the business of brokering,
funding, originating, servicing or purchasing of residential
mortgage loans without first obtaining a license from the
Secretary in accordance with the licensing procedure provided
in this Article I and such regulations as may be promulgated by
the Secretary. The licensing provisions of this Section shall
not apply to any entity engaged solely in commercial mortgage
lending or to any person, partnership association, corporation
or other entity exempted pursuant to Section 1-4, subsection
(d), of this Act or in accordance with regulations promulgated
by the Secretary hereunder. No provision of this Act shall
apply to an exempt person or entity as defined in items (1) and
(1.5) of subsection (d) of Section 1-4 of this Act.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding

sentence, an individual acting as a mortgage loan originator
who is not employed by and acting for an entity described in
item (1) of subsection (tt) of Section 1-4 of this Act shall be
subject to the mortgage loan originator licensing requirements
of Article VII of this Act.
Effective January 1, 2011, no provision of this Act shall
apply to an exempt person or entity as defined in item (1.8) of
subsection (d) of Section 1-4 of this Act. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in the preceding sentence, an
individual acting as a mortgage loan originator who is not
employed by and acting for an entity described in item (1) of
subsection (tt) of Section 1-4 of this Act shall be subject to
the mortgage loan originator licensing requirements of Article
VII of this Act, and provided that an individual acting as a
mortgage loan originator under item (1.8) of subsection (d) of
Section 1-4 of this Act shall be further subject to a
determination by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development through final rulemaking or other authorized
agency determination under the federal Secure and Fair
Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008.
(a-1) A person who is exempt from licensure pursuant to
paragraph (ii) of item (1) of subsection (d) of Section 1-4 of
this Act as a federally chartered savings bank that is
registered with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and
Registry may apply to the Secretary for an exempt company
registration for the purpose of sponsoring one or more

individuals subject to the mortgage loan originator licensing
requirements of Article VII of this Act. Registration with the
Division of Banking of the Department shall not affect the
exempt status of the applicant.
(1) A mortgage loan originator eligible for licensure
under this subsection shall (A) be covered under an
exclusive written contract with, and originate residential
mortgage loans solely on behalf of, that exempt person;
and (B) hold a current, valid insurance producer license
under Article XXXI of the Illinois Insurance Code.
(2) An exempt person shall: (A) fulfill any reporting
requirements required by the Nationwide Multistate
Licensing System and Registry or the Secretary; (B)
provide a blanket surety bond pursuant to Section 7-12 of
this Act covering the activities of all its sponsored
mortgage loan originators; (C) reasonably supervise the
activities of all its sponsored mortgage loan originators;
(D) comply with all rules and orders (including the
averments contained in Section 2-4 of this Act as
applicable to a non-licensed exempt entity provided for in
this Section) that the Secretary deems necessary to ensure
compliance with the federal SAFE Act; and (E) pay an
annual registration fee established by the Director.
(3) The Secretary may deny an exempt company
registration to an exempt person or fine, suspend, or
revoke an exempt company registration if the Secretary

finds one of the following:
(A) that the exempt person is not a person of
honesty, truthfulness, or good character;
(B) that the exempt person violated any applicable
law, rule, or order;
(C) that the exempt person refused or failed to
furnish, within a reasonable time, any information or
make any report that may be required by the Secretary;
(D) that the exempt person had a final judgment
entered against him or her in a civil action on grounds
of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, and the
conduct on which the judgment is based indicates that
it would be contrary to the interest of the public to
permit the exempt person to manage a loan originator;
(E) that the exempt person had an order entered
against him or her involving fraud, deceit, or
misrepresentation by an administrative agency of this
State, the federal government, or any other state or
territory of the United States, and the facts relating
to the order indicate that it would be contrary to the
interest of the public to permit the exempt person to
manage a loan originator;
(F) that the exempt person made a material
misstatement or suppressed or withheld information on
the application for an exempt company registration or
any document required to be filed with the Secretary;

or
(G) that the exempt person violated Section 4-5 of
this Act.
(a-5) An entity that is exempt from licensure pursuant to
item (7) of subsection (d) of Section 1-4 of this Act as an
independent loan processing entity shall annually apply to the
Secretary through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System
and Registry for an exempt company registration for the
purpose of sponsoring one or more individuals subject to the
mortgage loan originator licensing requirements of Article VII
of this Act. A loan processor who performs clerical or support
duties at the direction of and subject to the supervision and
instruction of a licensed mortgage loan originator sponsored
by an independent loan processing entity shall be exempt from
his or her own licensing as a mortgage loan originator. An
independent loan processing entity shall not be subject to
examination by the Secretary. The Secretary may adopt rules to
implement any provisions necessary for the administration of
this subsection.
(b) No person, partnership, association, corporation, or
other entity except a licensee under this Act or an entity
exempt from licensing pursuant to Section 1-4, subsection (d),
of this Act shall do any business under any name or title, or
circulate or use any advertising or make any representation or
give any information to any person, which indicates or
reasonably implies activity within the scope of this Act.

(c) The Secretary may, through the Attorney General,
request the circuit court of either Cook or Sangamon County to
issue an injunction to restrain any person from violating or
continuing to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this
Section.
(d) When the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe
that any entity which has not submitted an application for
licensure is conducting any of the activities described in
subsection (a) hereof, the Secretary shall have the power to
examine all books and records of the entity and any additional
documentation necessary in order to determine whether such
entity should become licensed under this Act.
(d-1) The Secretary may issue orders against any person if
the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe that an unsafe,
unsound, or unlawful practice has occurred, is occurring, or
is about to occur, if any person has violated, is violating, or
is about to violate any law, rule, or written agreement with
the Secretary, or for the purposes of administering the
provisions of this Act and any rule adopted in accordance with
this Act.
(e) Any person, partnership, association, corporation or
other entity who violates any provision of this Section
commits a business offense and shall be fined an amount not to
exceed $25,000. A mortgage loan brokered, funded, originated,
serviced, or purchased by a party who is not licensed under
this Section shall not be held to be invalid solely on the

basis of a violation under this Section. The changes made to
this Section by Public Act 99-113 are declarative of existing
law.
(f) Each person, partnership, association, corporation or
other entity conducting activities regulated by this Act shall
be issued one license. Each full service office, place of
business or location at which a residential mortgage licensee
conducts any part of his or her business must be recorded with
the Secretary pursuant to Section 2-8 of this Act.
(g) Licensees under this Act shall solicit, broker, fund,
originate, service and purchase residential mortgage loans
only in conformity with the provisions of this Act and such
rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the Secretary.
(h) This Act applies to all entities doing business in
Illinois as residential mortgage bankers, as defined by "An
Act to provide for the regulation of mortgage bankers",
approved September 15, 1977, as amended, regardless of whether
licensed under that or any prior Act. Any existing residential
mortgage lender or residential mortgage broker in Illinois
whether or not previously licensed, must operate in accordance
with this Act.
(i) This Act is a successor Act to and a continuance of the
regulation of residential mortgage bankers provided in "An Act
to provide for the regulation of mortgage bankers", approved
September 15, 1977, as amended.
Entities and persons subject to the predecessor Act shall

be subject to this Act from and after its effective date.
(Source: P.A. 100-851, eff. 8-14-18; 100-1153, eff. 12-19-18;
101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
(205 ILCS 635/1-4)
Sec. 1-4. Definitions. The following words and phrases
have the meanings given to them in this Section:
(a) "Residential real property" or "residential real
estate" shall mean any real property located in Illinois,
upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a
dwelling. Those terms include a manufactured home as
defined in subdivision (53) of Section 9-102 of the
Uniform Commercial Code which is real property as defined
in Section 5-35 of the Conveyance and Encumbrance of
Manufactured Homes as Real Property and Severance Act.
(b) "Making a residential mortgage loan" or "funding a
residential mortgage loan" shall mean for compensation or
gain, either directly or indirectly, advancing funds or
making a commitment to advance funds to a loan applicant
for a residential mortgage loan.
(c) "Soliciting, processing, placing, or negotiating a
residential mortgage loan" shall mean for compensation or
gain, either directly or indirectly, accepting or offering
to accept an application for a residential mortgage loan,
assisting or offering to assist in the processing of an
application for a residential mortgage loan on behalf of a

borrower, or negotiating or offering to negotiate the
terms or conditions of a residential mortgage loan with a
lender on behalf of a borrower including, but not limited
to, the submission of credit packages for the approval of
lenders, the preparation of residential mortgage loan
closing documents, including a closing in the name of a
broker.
(d) "Exempt person or entity" shall mean the
following:
(1) (i) Any banking organization or foreign
banking corporation licensed by the Illinois
Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate or the United
States Comptroller of the Currency to transact
business in this State; (ii) any national bank,
federally chartered savings and loan association,
federal savings bank, federal credit union; (iii)
(blank); (iv) any bank, savings and loan association,
savings bank, or credit union organized under the laws
of this or any other state; (v) any Illinois Consumer
Installment Loan Act licensee; (vi) any insurance
company authorized to transact business in this State;
(vii) any entity engaged solely in commercial mortgage
lending; (viii) any service corporation of a savings
and loan association or savings bank organized under
the laws of this State or the service corporation of a
federally chartered savings and loan association or

savings bank having its principal place of business in
this State, other than a service corporation licensed
or entitled to reciprocity under the Real Estate
License Act of 2000; or (ix) any first tier subsidiary
of a bank, the charter of which is issued under the
Illinois Banking Act by the Illinois Commissioner of
Banks and Real Estate, or the first tier subsidiary of
a bank chartered by the United States Comptroller of
the Currency and that has its principal place of
business in this State, provided that the first tier
subsidiary is regularly examined by the Illinois
Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate or the
Comptroller of the Currency, or a consumer compliance
examination is regularly conducted by the Federal
Reserve Board.
(1.5) Any employee of a person or entity mentioned
in item (1) of this subsection, when acting for such
person or entity, or any registered mortgage loan
originator when acting for an entity described in
subsection (tt) of this Section.
(1.8) Any person or entity that does not originate
mortgage loans in the ordinary course of business, but
makes or acquires residential mortgage loans with his
or her own funds for his or her or its own investment
without intent to make, acquire, or resell more than 3
residential mortgage loans in any one calendar year.

(2) (Blank).
(2.1) A bona fide nonprofit organization.
(2.2) An employee of a bona fide nonprofit
organization when acting on behalf of that
organization.
(3) Any person employed by a licensee to assist in
the performance of the residential mortgage licensee's
activities regulated by this Act who is compensated in
any manner by only one licensee.
(4) (Blank).
(5) Any individual, corporation, partnership, or
other entity that originates, services, or brokers
residential mortgage loans, as these activities are
defined in this Act, and who or which receives no
compensation for those activities, subject to the
Commissioner's regulations and the federal Secure and
Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008
and the rules promulgated under that Act with regard
to the nature and amount of compensation.
(6) (Blank).
(7) Any entity engaged solely in providing loan
processing services through the sponsoring of
individuals acting pursuant to subsection (d) of
Section 7-1A of this Act.
(e) "Licensee" or "residential mortgage licensee"
shall mean a person, partnership, association,

corporation, or any other entity who or which is licensed
pursuant to this Act to engage in the activities regulated
by this Act.
(f) "Mortgage loan" "residential mortgage loan" or
"home mortgage loan" shall mean any loan primarily for
personal, family, or household use that is secured by a
mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual
security interest on a dwelling as defined in Section
103(v) of the federal Truth in Lending Act, or residential
real estate upon which is constructed or intended to be
constructed a dwelling.
(g) "Lender" shall mean any person, partnership,
association, corporation, or any other entity who either
lends or invests money in residential mortgage loans.
(h) "Ultimate equitable owner" shall mean a person
who, directly or indirectly, owns or controls an ownership
interest in a corporation, foreign corporation, alien
business organization, trust, or any other form of
business organization regardless of whether the person
owns or controls the ownership interest through one or
more persons or one or more proxies, powers of attorney,
nominees, corporations, associations, partnerships,
trusts, joint stock companies, or other entities or
devices, or any combination thereof.
(i) "Residential mortgage financing transaction" shall
mean the negotiation, acquisition, sale, or arrangement

for or the offer to negotiate, acquire, sell, or arrange
for, a residential mortgage loan or residential mortgage
loan commitment.
(j) "Personal residence address" shall mean a street
address and shall not include a post office box number.
(k) "Residential mortgage loan commitment" shall mean
a contract for residential mortgage loan financing.
(l) "Party to a residential mortgage financing
transaction" shall mean a borrower, lender, or loan broker
in a residential mortgage financing transaction.
(m) "Payments" shall mean payment of all or any of the
following: principal, interest and escrow reserves for
taxes, insurance and other related reserves, and
reimbursement for lender advances.
(n) "Commissioner" shall mean the Commissioner of
Banks and Real Estate, except that, beginning on April 6,
2009 (the effective date of Public Act 95-1047), all
references in this Act to the Commissioner of Banks and
Real Estate are deemed, in appropriate contexts, to be
references to the Secretary of Financial and Professional
Regulation, or his or her designee, including the Director
of the Division of Banking of the Department of Financial
and Professional Regulation.
(n-1) "Director" shall mean the Director of the
Division of Banking of the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation, except that, beginning on July

31, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 96-112), all
references in this Act to the Director are deemed, in
appropriate contexts, to be the Secretary of Financial and
Professional Regulation, or his or her designee, including
the Director of the Division of Banking of the Department
of Financial and Professional Regulation.
(o) "Loan brokering", "brokering", or "brokerage
service" shall mean the act of helping to obtain from
another entity, for a borrower, a loan secured by
residential real estate situated in Illinois or assisting
a borrower in obtaining a loan secured by residential real
estate situated in Illinois in return for consideration to
be paid by either the borrower or the lender including,
but not limited to, contracting for the delivery of
residential mortgage loans to a third party lender and
soliciting, processing, placing, or negotiating
residential mortgage loans.
(p) "Loan broker" or "broker" shall mean a person,
partnership, association, corporation, or limited
liability company, other than those persons, partnerships,
associations, corporations, or limited liability companies
exempted from licensing pursuant to Section 1-4,
subsection (d), of this Act, who performs the activities
described in subsections (c), (o), and (yy) of this
Section.
(q) "Servicing" shall mean the collection or

remittance for or the right or obligation to collect or
remit for any lender, noteowner, noteholder, or for a
licensee's own account, of payments, interests, principal,
and trust items such as hazard insurance and taxes on a
residential mortgage loan in accordance with the terms of
the residential mortgage loan; and includes loan payment
follow-up, delinquency loan follow-up, loan analysis and
any notifications to the borrower that are necessary to
enable the borrower to keep the loan current and in good
standing. "Servicing" includes management of third-party
entities acting on behalf of a residential mortgage
licensee for the collection of delinquent payments and the
use by such third-party entities of said licensee's
servicing records or information, including their use in
foreclosure.
(r) "Full service office" shall mean an office,
provided by the licensee and not subleased from the
licensee's employees or independent contractors, and staff
in Illinois reasonably adequate to handle efficiently
communications, questions, and other matters relating to
any application for, or an existing home mortgage secured
by residential real estate situated in Illinois with
respect to which the licensee is brokering, funding
originating, purchasing, or servicing. The management and
operation of each full service office must include
observance of good business practices such as proper

signage; adequate, organized, and accurate books and
records; ample phone lines, hours of business, staff
training and supervision, and provision for a mechanism to
resolve consumer inquiries, complaints, and problems. The
Commissioner shall issue regulations with regard to these
requirements and shall include an evaluation of compliance
with this Section in his or her periodic examination of
each licensee. "Full service office" does not include a
remote location.
(s) "Purchasing" shall mean the purchase of
conventional or government-insured mortgage loans secured
by residential real estate situated in Illinois from
either the lender or from the secondary market.
(t) "Borrower" shall mean the person or persons who
seek the services of a loan broker, originator, or lender.
(u) "Originating" shall mean the issuing of
commitments for and funding of residential mortgage loans.
(v) "Loan brokerage agreement" shall mean a written
agreement in which a broker or loan broker agrees to do
either of the following:
(1) obtain a residential mortgage loan for the
borrower or assist the borrower in obtaining a
residential mortgage loan; or
(2) consider making a residential mortgage loan to
the borrower.
(w) "Advertisement" shall mean the attempt by

publication, dissemination, or circulation to induce,
directly or indirectly, any person to enter into a
residential mortgage loan agreement or residential
mortgage loan brokerage agreement relative to a mortgage
secured by residential real estate situated in Illinois.
(x) (Blank).
(y) "Government-insured mortgage loan" shall mean any
mortgage loan made on the security of residential real
estate insured by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development or Farmers Home Loan Administration, or
guaranteed by the Veterans Administration.
(z) "Annual audit" shall mean a certified audit of the
licensee's books and records and systems of internal
control performed by a certified public accountant in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and generally accepted auditing standards.
(aa) "Financial institution" shall mean a savings and
loan association, savings bank, credit union, or a bank
organized under the laws of Illinois or a savings and loan
association, savings bank, credit union or a bank
organized under the laws of the United States and
headquartered in Illinois.
(bb) "Escrow agent" shall mean a third party,
individual or entity charged with the fiduciary obligation
for holding escrow funds on a residential mortgage loan
pending final payout of those funds in accordance with the

terms of the residential mortgage loan.
(cc) "Net worth" shall have the meaning ascribed
thereto in Section 3-5 of this Act.
(dd) "Affiliate" shall mean:
(1) any entity that directly controls or is
controlled by the licensee and any other company that
is directly affecting activities regulated by this Act
that is controlled by the company that controls the
licensee;
(2) any entity:
(A) that is controlled, directly or
indirectly, by a trust or otherwise, by or for the
benefit of shareholders who beneficially or
otherwise control, directly or indirectly, by
trust or otherwise, the licensee or any company
that controls the licensee; or
(B) a majority of the directors or trustees of
which constitute a majority of the persons holding
any such office with the licensee or any company
that controls the licensee;
(3) any company, including a real estate
investment trust, that is sponsored and advised on a
contractual basis by the licensee or any subsidiary or
affiliate of the licensee.
(ee) "First tier subsidiary" shall be defined by
regulation incorporating the comparable definitions used

by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the
Illinois Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate.
(ff) "Gross delinquency rate" means the quotient
determined by dividing (1) the sum of (i) the number of
government-insured residential mortgage loans funded or
purchased by a licensee in the preceding calendar year
that are delinquent and (ii) the number of conventional
residential mortgage loans funded or purchased by the
licensee in the preceding calendar year that are
delinquent by (2) the sum of (i) the number of
government-insured residential mortgage loans funded or
purchased by the licensee in the preceding calendar year
and (ii) the number of conventional residential mortgage
loans funded or purchased by the licensee in the preceding
calendar year.
(gg) "Delinquency rate factor" means the factor set by
rule of the Commissioner that is multiplied by the average
gross delinquency rate of licensees, determined annually
for the immediately preceding calendar year, for the
purpose of determining which licensees shall be examined
by the Commissioner pursuant to subsection (b) of Section
4-8 of this Act.
(hh) (Blank).
(ii) "Confidential supervisory information" means any
report of examination, visitation, or investigation
prepared by the Commissioner under this Act, any report of

examination visitation, or investigation prepared by the
state regulatory authority of another state that examines
a licensee, any document or record prepared or obtained in
connection with or relating to any examination,
visitation, or investigation, and any record prepared or
obtained by the Commissioner to the extent that the record
summarizes or contains information derived from any
report, document, or record described in this subsection.
"Confidential supervisory information" does not include
any information or record routinely prepared by a licensee
and maintained in the ordinary course of business or any
information or record that is required to be made publicly
available pursuant to State or federal law or rule.
(jj) "Mortgage loan originator" means an individual
who for compensation or gain or in the expectation of
compensation or gain:
(i) takes a residential mortgage loan application;
or
(ii) offers or negotiates terms of a residential
mortgage loan.
"Mortgage loan originator" includes an individual
engaged in loan modification activities as defined in
subsection (yy) of this Section. A mortgage loan
originator engaged in loan modification activities shall
report those activities to the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation in the manner provided by the

Department; however, the Department shall not impose a fee
for reporting, nor require any additional qualifications
to engage in those activities beyond those provided
pursuant to this Act for mortgage loan originators.
"Mortgage loan originator" does not include an
individual engaged solely as a loan processor or
underwriter except as otherwise provided in subsection (d)
of Section 7-1A of this Act.
"Mortgage loan originator" does not include a person
or entity that only performs real estate brokerage
activities and is licensed in accordance with the Real
Estate License Act of 2000, unless the person or entity is
compensated by a lender, a mortgage broker, or other
mortgage loan originator, or by any agent of that lender,
mortgage broker, or other mortgage loan originator.
"Mortgage loan originator" does not include a person
or entity solely involved in extensions of credit relating
to timeshare plans, as that term is defined in Section
101(53D) of Title 11, United States Code.
(kk) "Depository institution" has the same meaning as
in Section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and
includes any credit union.
(ll) "Dwelling" means a residential structure or
mobile home which contains one to 4 family housing units,
or individual units of condominiums or cooperatives.
(mm) "Immediate family member" means a spouse, child,

sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild, and includes
step-parents, step-children, step-siblings, or adoptive
relationships.
(nn) "Individual" means a natural person.
(oo) "Loan processor or underwriter" means an
individual who performs clerical or support duties as an
employee at the direction of and subject to the
supervision and instruction of a person licensed, or
exempt from licensing, under this Act. "Clerical or
support duties" includes subsequent to the receipt of an
application:
(i) the receipt, collection, distribution, and
analysis of information common for the processing or
underwriting of a residential mortgage loan; and
(ii) communicating with a consumer to obtain the
information necessary for the processing or
underwriting of a loan, to the extent that the
communication does not include offering or negotiating
loan rates or terms, or counseling consumers about
residential mortgage loan rates or terms. An
individual engaging solely in loan processor or
underwriter activities shall not represent to the
public, through advertising or other means of
communicating or providing information, including the
use of business cards, stationery, brochures, signs,
rate lists, or other promotional items, that the

individual can or will perform any of the activities
of a mortgage loan originator.
(pp) "Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and
Registry" means a mortgage licensing system developed and
maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and
the American Association of Residential Mortgage
Regulators for the licensing and registration of licensed
mortgage loan originators.
(qq) "Nontraditional mortgage product" means any
mortgage product other than a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
(rr) "Person" means a natural person, corporation,
company, limited liability company, partnership, or
association.
(ss) "Real estate brokerage activity" means any
activity that involves offering or providing real estate
brokerage services to the public, including:
(1) acting as a real estate agent or real estate
broker for a buyer, seller, lessor, or lessee of real
property;
(2) bringing together parties interested in the
sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange of real
property;
(3) negotiating, on behalf of any party, any
portion of a contract relating to the sale, purchase,
lease, rental, or exchange of real property, other
than in connection with providing financing with

respect to any such transaction;
(4) engaging in any activity for which a person
engaged in the activity is required to be registered
or licensed as a real estate agent or real estate
broker under any applicable law; or
(5) offering to engage in any activity, or act in
any capacity, described in this subsection (ss).
(tt) "Registered mortgage loan originator" means any
individual that:
(1) meets the definition of mortgage loan
originator and is an employee of:
(A) a depository institution;
(B) a subsidiary that is:
(i) owned and controlled by a depository
institution; and
(ii) regulated by a federal banking
agency; or
(C) an institution regulated by the Farm
Credit Administration; and
(2) is registered with, and maintains a unique
identifier through, the Nationwide Multistate
Licensing System and Registry.
(uu) "Unique identifier" means a number or other
identifier assigned by protocols established by the
Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry.
(vv) "Residential mortgage license" means a license

issued pursuant to Section 1-3, 2-2, or 2-6 of this Act.
(ww) "Mortgage loan originator license" means a
license issued pursuant to Section 7-1A, 7-3, or 7-6 of
this Act.
(xx) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department
of Financial and Professional Regulation, or a person
authorized by the Secretary or by this Act to act in the
Secretary's stead.
(yy) "Loan modification" means, for compensation or
gain, either directly or indirectly offering or
negotiating on behalf of a borrower or homeowner to adjust
the terms of a residential mortgage loan in a manner not
provided for in the original or previously modified
mortgage loan.
(zz) "Short sale facilitation" means, for compensation
or gain, either directly or indirectly offering or
negotiating on behalf of a borrower or homeowner to
facilitate the sale of residential real estate subject to
one or more residential mortgage loans or debts
constituting liens on the property in which the proceeds
from selling the residential real estate will fall short
of the amount owed and the lien holders are contacted to
agree to release their lien on the residential real estate
and accept less than the full amount owed on the debt.
(aaa) "Bona fide nonprofit organization" means an
organization that is described in Section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code, is exempt from federal income tax
under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, does
not operate in a commercial context, and does all of the
following:
(1) Promotes affordable housing or provides home
ownership education or similar services.
(2) Conducts its activities in a manner that
serves public or charitable purposes.
(3) Receives funding and revenue and charges fees
in a manner that does not create an incentive for
itself or its employees to act other than in the best
interests of its clients.
(4) Compensates its employees in a manner that
does not create an incentive for its employees to act
other than in the best interests of its clients.
(5) Provides to, or identifies for, the borrower
residential mortgage loans with terms favorable to the
borrower and comparable to residential mortgage loans
and housing assistance provided under government
housing assistance programs.
(bbb) "Remote location" means a location other than a
principal place of business or a full service office at
which a mortgage loan originator of a licensee may conduct
business.
The Commissioner may define by rule and regulation any
terms used in this Act for the efficient and clear

administration of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 100-783, eff. 8-10-18; 100-851, eff. 8-14-18;
100-1153, eff. 12-19-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
(205 ILCS 635/3-11 new)
Sec. 3-11. Remote location operations. Licensees may allow
mortgage loan originators to work from a remote location if:
(1) the licensee has written policies and procedures
for the supervision of mortgage loan originators working
from a remote location;
(2) access to company platforms and customer
information is in accordance with the licensee's
comprehensive written information security plan;
(3) no in-person customer interaction occurs at a
mortgage originator's residence unless that residence is a
licensed location;
(4) physical records are not maintained at a remote
location;
(5) customer interactions and conversations about
consumers will be in compliance with federal and State
information security requirements, including applicable
provisions under the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and
the Safeguards Rule established by the Federal Trade
Commission and set forth in 16 CFR Part 314, as such
requirements may be amended from time to time;
(6) mortgage loan originators working at a remote

location access the company's secure systems, including a
cloud-based system, directly from any out-of-office device
the mortgage loan originator uses, including, but not
limited to, a laptop, phone, desktop computer, or tablet,
via a virtual private network or comparable system that
ensures secure connectivity and requires passwords or
other forms of authentication to access;
(7) the licensee ensures that appropriate security
updates, patches, or other alterations to the security of
all devices used at remote locations are installed and
maintained;
(8) the licensee has an ability to remotely lock or
erase company-related contents of any device or otherwise
remotely limit all access to a company's secure systems;
and
(9) the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and
Registry record of a loan originator that works from a
remote location designates the principal place of business
as the loan originator's registered location unless the
loan originator elects another licensed branch office as a
registered location.