Mortgage Action Alliance Supports SAFE Act Update Bill

The Mortgage Action Alliance, the non-partisan lobbying network run by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), is calling on industry professionals to get behind HR 2121, the SAFE Transitional Licensing Act.

In an e-mail sent out to the Alliance’s members, the legislation is identified as updating the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to “provide a temporary license for registered loan originators transitioning between federally-insured depositories and non-depositories, as well as for licensed loan originators moving across state lines.” The alliance noted that the bill is a bipartisan effort, with four Democrat and three Republican representatives as original co-sponsors.

In its e-mail, the Mortgage Action Alliance praised the bill as being “a narrow and simple solution that would allow individuals to continue working and originating loans, while in no way weakening the important consumer protections of the SAFE Act.” The group also urged mortgage professionals to contact their local House representatives to co-sponsor the bill.

“The legislation would require states to issue a transitional loan originator license to individuals who are already employed by a depository institution (or an affiliate) and are registered loan originators,” said the emailed message. “These individuals would be able to continue originating loans for 120 days when they move to a non-depository lender. The bill would also allow state-licensed loan officers to obtain a transitional license when they move to a new state. During the period of a transitional license, the legislation explicitly stipulates that the loan officer’s new employer will be responsible for the temporary licensee and subject to the SAFE Act and all applicable state laws.”