STCU employees to be fingerprinted
New law requires background checks for mortgage loan originators
[June 30, 2011]
More than 100 STCU employees will be fingerprinted on Wednesday, July 6, as part of the process of complying with new federal rules for anyone who works as a mortgage loan originator.
The same process of fingerprinting and FBI background checks is happening at thousands of credit unions, banks and other financial institutions nationwide. It’s required to comply with the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act), which was enacted as a response to the subprime lending crisis and national recession.
“STCU did not engage in the risky lending practices that led to the subprime lending crisis,” noted Scott Adkins, STCU vice president of lending. “Nonetheless, we will be ready to comply with the new regulations when they take effect later this month.”
The new procedures give consumers a way to confirm that the person who accesses their sensitive financial records and provides lending advice is a registered mortgage loan originator (MLO).
At STCU, 112 employees meet that definition.
Background
In 2008, Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, a sweeping package that wrapped together several initiatives. The legislation, which was signed into law by then-President Bush, included the SAFE Act, which established uniform licensing standards and a national database of MLOs, each of whom must be fingerprinted and submit to an FBI background check in order to be registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
As part of the process, each MLO is given a “unique identifier” number that will follow them for the rest of their careers, at any financial institution where they work on mortgage loans. Starting July 29, that number must be provided to loan applicants.
Consumers nationwide will be able to log an MLO number at www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org to confirm that the person who has access to their financial records is registered. Although MLOs are fingerprinted only once, the law states that each must renew his or her registration annually.
What STCU is doing to comply
By June 24, the 112 qualifying STCU employees had registered online with the NMLS registry. That process, which took about 20 minutes apiece, involved filling out a detailed questionnaire about the applicant’s work history and any criminal convictions or disciplinary action by state or federal regulatory agencies.
Now those employees are ready for fingerprinting, a process that will take place July 6 at STCU’s headquarters, 1620 N. Signal Drive in Liberty Lake, and at our Main Branch, 106 W. Nora in Spokane.
At STCU, each MLO will receive new business cards that include his or her identification number. Training about the SAFE Act, along with registration and fingerprinting, will become part of the employee orientation for all new MLOs.
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