2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 32. Financial Institutions › Chapter 9. Residential Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, Servicers, and Loan Originators › Part 1. Montana Mortgage Act › 32-9-120. Denial of mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage servicer, or mortgage loan originator license application or license renewal

32-9-120. Denial of mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage servicer, or mortgage loan originator license application or license renewal.
(1) The department may not issue or renew any mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage servicer, or mortgage loan originator license if any of the following facts are found during the application procedure:
(a) the applicant has ever had a mortgage loan originator license or an equivalent license revoked in any governmental jurisdiction. A subsequent formal vacation of a revocation means that the revocation may not be considered a revocation. The department may by order vacate a revocation of a license and enter an appropriate order.
(b) the applicant has been convicted of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to a felony in a domestic, foreign, or military court during the 7-year period preceding the date of the application for licensing or renewal or at any time preceding the date of application if the felony involved an act of fraud, dishonesty, a breach of trust, or money laundering. The pardon or expungement of a conviction is not a conviction for the purposes of this subsection (1)(b). When determining the eligibility of the applicant for licensure under subsection (1)(c) or this subsection (1)(b), the department may consider the underlying crime, facts, or circumstances of a pardoned or expunged felony conviction.
(c) the applicant has failed to demonstrate financial responsibility, character, and general fitness to command the confidence of the community and to warrant a determination that the mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage servicer, or mortgage loan originator will operate honestly, fairly, and efficiently within the purposes of this section;
(d) the applicant has not provided and maintained the surety bond as required pursuant to 32-9-123;
(e) the applicant has not completed the prelicensing education requirement described in 32-9-107;
(f) the applicant has not passed a written test that meets the test requirements described in 32-9-110;
(g) the applicant made a material misstatement of fact or material omission of fact in the application;
(h) the applicant has failed to meet the mortgage servicer capital requirements provided in 32-9-206;
(i) the applicant has failed to meet the minimum mortgage lender net worth requirements provided in 32-9-172; or
(j) the applicant has been found to have violated:
(i) any rule of conduct for persons taking the mortgage loan originator national or state test under the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act; or
(ii) the nationwide multistate licensing system industry terms of use as they pertain to enrolling, scheduling, or taking the mortgage loan originator national or state test under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act.
(2) The department may consider an application abandoned if an applicant fails to provide or respond to a request for additional information within the time period specified by the department by rule.
(3) For purposes of subsection (1)(b), a pardoned or expunged felony conviction does not necessitate denial of the license application. The department may consider the underlying crime, facts, or circumstances of a pardoned or expunged felony conviction when determining the eligibility of an applicant for licensure under subsection (1)(b) or (1)(c). Whether a particular crime is classified as a felony must be determined by the law of the jurisdiction in which an individual is convicted. (See part compiler's comment regarding contingent suspension.)
History: En. Sec. 17, Ch. 321, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 317, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 125, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 65, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 4, L. 2023.