Attention all Members and Affiliates of the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers:

As a follow up to my message earlier today this letter is to inform the membership that your association is currently working carefully with your regulators and other industry partners in response to the current world health crisis and the effect that this may be having on your businesses to date and in the unforeseeable future.

I have received calls and emails from many of you asking for advice and or input on a number of areas that are a concern to all of us so I will attempt to address the most immediate concerns of New York Mortgage Brokers in this letter and then follow up later this week with additional information as necessary. 

Please stay tuned to these Important Notices so that you can stay on top of the direction of your industry as we all move through this together.

Question : Are NYS Mortgage Brokers considered essential Businesses?Answer : Yes, according correspondence received today from the NYSDFS, Mortgage Brokerage is an Essential Financial Service. 

For Consideration : NY Mortgage Brokers must carefully consider the risks to the public when operating their business and the recommendation from the CDC to work from home should be the current standard of practice for most mortgage brokers. If you are a (1) person operation the current law exempts you from the stay at home provision. NYSDFS has issued emergency guidelines for working at home. Employees may NOT conduct any “face to face” business with consumers from any property other than the licensed location. However, employees will be allowed to take mortgage applications from a secure, remote location such as their own home. You are required to adhere to the regulation regarding the safety of all consumer data. Remote users will be required to implement the same standard for operation as would be expected in the office and should follow all policies and procedures. 

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We just received clarification to the Governor's Executive Order 2026 "Essential Business". Please see below from Gayathri Nair, Financial Services Manager of the NYS DFS:

"Based on Governor’s Executive Order 202.6, "Essential Business," includes Financial Institutions and services related to financial markets. Therefore Brokers are considered essential business." 

Link to Governor guidelines : https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-issues-guidance-essential-services-under-new-york-state-pause-executive-order

Click Here to Read Notice in Full

copy of Industry Letter issued by the NYSDFS on May 10, 2020

To: The Chief Executive Officers or the Equivalents of New York State Regulated Institutions

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) is issuing this guidance and request for assurance to ensure your institutions have preparedness plans in place to address operational risk posed by the outbreak of a novel coronavirus known as “COVID-19”.

Click Here to read full content of letter

All regulated entities and licensed persons of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) are required to file various notices to the Superintendent.

• January 2019 Covered Entities Must File Notices of Exemption
• • Exemptions filed in 2017 and 2018 have expired. Any DFS regulated entity or licensed person that is currently entitled to an exemption must file an Initial Notice of Exemption prior to the February 15, 2019 due date for the annual Certification of Compliance.
• February 15, 2019 Compliance Certification Filing Deadline
• • Regulated entities and licensed persons must file the Certification of Compliance for calendar year 2018 no later than February 15, 2019.

Click Here for More Details

The New York State Department of Financial Services is issuing this guidance to all entities chartered, licensed, or regulated by the Department. This guidance applies to all such regulated institutions regardless of industry, size, or number of employees.

CLICK HERE to access full content of DFS Letter

NAMB's letter to The Honorable J. Michael Mulvane, Acting Director
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

Read Context of Full Letter Click Here

The New York Association of Mortgage Brokers (NYAMB) has announced the creation of the NYAMB Compliance Line to provide its members who have questions or concerns regarding residential mortgage compliance matters with an experienced, centralized source of information. Read full article

S. 2155, the  Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act  just passed the House.  This bill passed the senate back in March of this year and was sent back to the House for approval and now sits on President Trump's desk for approval. The bill rolls back reforms from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

MCLEAN, Va., April 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC) announced today HomeOne mortgage, a new conventional (non-FHA) 3% down payment option for qualified first-time homebuyers. HomeOne mortgage broadly serves borrowers without geographic or income restrictions and complements the company’s Home Possible^® mortgage products for low-to-moderate income audiences. HomeOne will be available starting July 29, 2018. Read full article

The Senate spent the first part of this week working through the bill sorting through the more than 100 proposed amendments. While the final vote was originally expected last week, it was pushed back to this week in order to consider the amendments. The bill, which aims to ease regulations on small banks, was sponsored by Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, with nearly 20 bipartisan co-sponsors, and was introduced in the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

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