1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to commerce; regulating residential mortgage originators and services; 
1.3 	verifying the borrower's ability to pay;amending Minnesota Statutes 2007 
1.4 	Supplement, section 58.13, subdivision 1.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 58.13, subdivision 1, is 
1.7 	amended to read:
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Generally. (a) No person acting as a residential mortgage originator 
1.9 	or servicer, including a person required to be licensed under this chapter, and no person 
1.10 	exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter under section 58.04, except as 
1.11 	otherwise provided in paragraph (b), shall: 
1.12 	(1) fail to maintain a trust account to hold trust funds received in connection with a 
1.13 	residential mortgage loan;
1.14 	(2) fail to deposit all trust funds into a trust account within three business days of 
1.15 	receipt; commingle trust funds with funds belonging to the licensee or exempt person; or 
1.16 	use trust account funds for any purpose other than that for which they are received;
1.17 	(3) unreasonably delay the processing of a residential mortgage loan application, 
1.18 	or the closing of a residential mortgage loan. For purposes of this clause, evidence of 
1.19 	unreasonable delay includes but is not limited to those factors identified in section 47.206, 
1.20 	subdivision 7, clause (d); 
1.21 	(4) fail to disburse funds according to its contractual or statutory obligations;
1.22 	(5) fail to perform in conformance with its written agreements with borrowers, 
1.23 	investors, other licensees, or exempt persons;
2.1 	(6) charge a fee for a product or service where the product or service is not actually 
2.2 	provided, or misrepresent the amount charged by or paid to a third party for a product 
2.3 	or service;
2.4 	(7) fail to comply with sections 345.31 to 345.60, the Minnesota unclaimed property 
2.5 	law; 
2.6 	(8) violate any provision of any other applicable state or federal law regulating 
2.7 	residential mortgage loans including, without limitation, sections 47.20 to 47.208; 
2.8 	(9) make or cause to be made, directly or indirectly, any false, deceptive, or 
2.9 	misleading statement or representation in connection with a residential loan transaction 
2.10 	including, without limitation, a false, deceptive, or misleading statement or representation 
2.11 	regarding the borrower's ability to qualify for any mortgage product;
2.12 	(10) conduct residential mortgage loan business under any name other than that 
2.13 	under which the license or certificate of exemption was issued;
2.14 	(11) compensate, whether directly or indirectly, coerce or intimidate an appraiser for 
2.15 	the purpose of influencing the independent judgment of the appraiser with respect to the 
2.16 	value of real estate that is to be covered by a residential mortgage or is being offered as 
2.17 	security according to an application for a residential mortgage loan;
2.18 	(12) issue any document indicating conditional qualification or conditional approval 
2.19 	for a residential mortgage loan, unless the document also clearly indicates that final 
2.20 	qualification or approval is not guaranteed, and may be subject to additional review;
2.21 	(13) make or assist in making any residential mortgage loan with the intent that the 
2.22 	loan will not be repaid and that the residential mortgage originator will obtain title to 
2.23 	the property through foreclosure;
2.24 	(14) provide or offer to provide for a borrower, any brokering or lending services 
2.25 	under an arrangement with a person other than a licensee or exempt person, provided that 
2.26 	a person may rely upon a written representation by the residential mortgage originator that 
2.27 	it is in compliance with the licensing requirements of this chapter;
2.28 	(15) claim to represent a licensee or exempt person, unless the person is an employee 
2.29 	of the licensee or exempt person or unless the person has entered into a written agency 
2.30 	agreement with the licensee or exempt person;
2.31 	(16) fail to comply with the record keeping and notification requirements identified 
2.32 	in section 58.14 or fail to abide by the affirmations made on the application for licensure; 
2.33 	(17) represent that the licensee or exempt person is acting as the borrower's agent 
2.34 	after providing the nonagency disclosure required by section 58.15, unless the disclosure 
2.35 	is retracted and the licensee or exempt person complies with all of the requirements of 
2.36 	section 58.16; 
3.1 	(18) make, provide, or arrange for a residential mortgage loan that is of a lower 
3.2 	investment grade if the borrower's credit score or, if the originator does not utilize credit 
3.3 	scoring or if a credit score is unavailable, then comparable underwriting data, indicates 
3.4 	that the borrower may qualify for a residential mortgage loan, available from or through 
3.5 	the originator, that is of a higher investment grade, unless the borrower is informed that 
3.6 	the borrower may qualify for a higher investment grade loan with a lower interest rate 
3.7 	and/or lower discount points, and consents in writing to receipt of the lower investment 
3.8 	grade loan; 
3.9 	For purposes of this section, "investment grade" refers to a system of categorizing 
3.10 	residential mortgage loans in which the loans are: (i) commonly referred to as "prime" or 
3.11 	"subprime"; (ii) commonly designated by an alphabetical character with "A" being the 
3.12 	highest investment grade; and (iii) are distinguished by interest rate or discount points 
3.13 	or both charged to the borrower, which vary according to the degree of perceived risk 
3.14 	of default based on factors such as the borrower's credit, including credit score and 
3.15 	credit patterns, income and employment history, debt ratio, loan-to-value ratio, and prior 
3.16 	bankruptcy or foreclosure;
3.17 	(19) make, publish, disseminate, circulate, place before the public, or cause to be 
3.18 	made, directly or indirectly, any advertisement or marketing materials of any type, or any 
3.19 	statement or representation relating to the business of residential mortgage loans that is 
3.20 	false, deceptive, or misleading;
3.21 	(20) advertise loan types or terms that are not available from or through the licensee 
3.22 	or exempt person on the date advertised, or on the date specified in the advertisement. 
3.23 	For purposes of this clause, advertisement includes, but is not limited to, a list of sample 
3.24 	mortgage terms, including interest rates, discount points, and closing costs provided by 
3.25 	licensees or exempt persons to a print or electronic medium that presents the information 
3.26 	to the public;
3.27 	(21) use or employ phrases, pictures, return addresses, geographic designations, or 
3.28 	other means that create the impression, directly or indirectly, that a licensee or other 
3.29 	person is a governmental agency, or is associated with, sponsored by, or in any manner 
3.30 	connected to, related to, or endorsed by a governmental agency, if that is not the case; 
3.31 	(22) violate section 82.49, relating to table funding; 
3.32 	(23) make, provide, or arrange for a residential mortgage loan all or a portion 
3.33 	of the proceeds of which are used to fully or partially pay off a "special mortgage" 
3.34 	unless the borrower has obtained a written certification from an authorized independent 
3.35 	loan counselor that the borrower has received counseling on the advisability of the 
3.36 	loan transaction. For purposes of this section, "special mortgage" means a residential 
4.1 	mortgage loan originated, subsidized, or guaranteed by or through a state, tribal, or 
4.2 	local government, or nonprofit organization, that bears one or more of the following 
4.3 	nonstandard payment terms which substantially benefit the borrower: (i) payments vary 
4.4 	with income; (ii) payments of principal or interest are not required or can be deferred under 
4.5 	specified conditions; (iii) principal or interest is forgivable under specified conditions; 
4.6 	or (iv) where no interest or an annual interest rate of two percent or less is charged in 
4.7 	connection with the loan. For purposes of this section, "authorized independent loan 
4.8 	counselor" means a nonprofit, third-party individual or organization providing homebuyer 
4.9 	education programs, foreclosure prevention services, mortgage loan counseling, or credit 
4.10 	counseling certified by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
4.11 	the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, the Minnesota Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention 
4.12 	Association, AARP, or NeighborWorks America;
4.13 	(24) make, provide, or arrange for a residential mortgage loan without verifying 
4.14 	the borrower's reasonable ability to pay the scheduled payments of the following, as 
4.15 	applicable: principal; interest; real estate taxes; homeowner's insurance, assessments, 
4.16 	and mortgage insurance premiums. For loans in which the interest rate may vary, the 
4.17 	reasonable ability to pay shall be determined based on a fully indexed rate and a repayment 
4.18 	schedule which achieves full amortization over the life of the loan. For all residential 
4.19 	mortgage loans, the borrower's income and financial resources must be verified by tax 
4.20 	returns, payroll receipts, bank records, or other similarly reliable documents.
4.21 	Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit a mortgage originator's or 
4.22 	exempt person's ability to rely on criteria other than the borrower's income and financial 
4.23 	resources to establish the borrower's reasonable ability to repay the residential mortgage 
4.24 	loan; however, such other criteria must be verified through reasonably reliable methods 
4.25 	and documentation. The mortgage originator's analysis of the reasonable probability of 
4.26 	payment of the obligation by the borrower may include, but is not limited to, verification 
4.27 	of the borrower's current and expected income, current and expected cash flow, net 
4.28 	worth and other financial resources other than the consumer's equity in the dwelling that 
4.29 	secures repayment of the loan, current financial obligations, property taxes and insurance, 
4.30 	assessments on the property, employment status, credit history, and other relevant 
4.31 	factors such as debt-to-income ratio, credit scores, tax returns, pension statements, 
4.32 	employment payment records, and statements or information submitted by the consumer 
4.33 	in their mortgage loan application, provided that no supplier shall disregard facts and 
4.34 	circumstances that indicate that the financial or other information submitted by the 
4.35 	consumer is inaccurate or incomplete. A statement by the borrower to the residential 
4.36 	mortgage originator or exempt person of the borrower's income and resources is not 
5.1 	sufficient to establish the existence of the income or resources when verifying the 
5.2 	reasonable ability to pay.
5.3 	(25) engage in "churning." As used in this section, "churning" means knowingly or 
5.4 	intentionally making, providing, or arranging for a residential mortgage loan when the 
5.5 	new residential mortgage loan does not provide a reasonable, tangible net benefit to the 
5.6 	borrower considering all of the circumstances including the terms of both the new and 
5.7 	refinanced loans, the cost of the new loan, and the borrower's circumstances;
5.8 	(26) the first time a residential mortgage originator orally informs a borrower of the 
5.9 	anticipated or actual periodic payment amount for a first-lien residential mortgage loan 
5.10 	which does not include an amount for payment of property taxes and hazard insurance, 
5.11 	the residential mortgage originator must inform the borrower that an additional amount 
5.12 	will be due for taxes and insurance and, if known, disclose to the borrower the amount of 
5.13 	the anticipated or actual periodic payments for property taxes and hazard insurance. This 
5.14 	same oral disclosure must be made each time the residential mortgage originator orally 
5.15 	informs the borrower of a different anticipated or actual periodic payment amount change 
5.16 	from the amount previously disclosed. A residential mortgage originator need not make 
5.17 	this disclosure concerning a refinancing loan if the residential mortgage originator knows 
5.18 	that the borrower's existing loan that is anticipated to be refinanced does not have an 
5.19 	escrow account; or
5.20 	(27) make, provide, or arrange for a residential mortgage loan, other than a reverse 
5.21 	mortgage pursuant to United States Code, title 15, chapter 41, if the borrower's compliance 
5.22 	with any repayment option offered pursuant to the terms of the loan will result in negative 
5.23 	amortization during any six-month period.
5.24 	(b) Paragraph (a), clauses (24) through (27), do not apply to a state or federally 
5.25 	chartered bank, savings bank, or credit union, an institution chartered by Congress under 
5.26 	the Farm Credit Act, or to a person making, providing, or arranging a residential mortgage 
5.27 	loan originated or purchased by a state agency or a tribal or local unit of government. This 
5.28 	paragraph supersedes any inconsistent provision of this chapter.