2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART VII - Other Financial Institutions (§§ 3001-3012 — 3116) › Subchapter VI - Powers of the Commissioner (§§ 3056 — 3056d) › § 3056 - General powers

(a) The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions is authorized to participate in the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry and to pay the fees and related expenses.
(b) The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions shall have the responsibility to oversee, supervise, and regulate the operations of the persons engaged in businesses subject to this chapter and to investigate and issue orders against those who operate any mortgage loan lending, brokerage, or origination business without previously obtaining a license issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions.
(c) Persons engaging in any business subject to this chapter without a license shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions and to the proceedings and sanctions established through regulations by the Commissioner.
(d) In addition to the powers and faculties conferred to the Commissioner by §§ 2001 et seq. of this title, he/she shall have, without it being understood as a limitation, the following powers:
(1) Carry out all those actions and impose those remedies necessary to enforce compliance with this chapter or any regulations that could be adopted thereunder, provided that the Commissioner maintains said remedies and regulations within the spirit and stipulations of the powers granted by state or federal laws that apply to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico;
(2) modify the requirements established in the license application as the Commissioner deems necessary to enforce compliance with this chapter or any other regulations that may be adopted thereunder;
(3) require licensees to keep and preserve registries or other documents needed to enforce the provisions of this chapter or any regulations that could be adopted thereunder by the Commissioner;
(4) inspect all sorts of registries, files, and documents of any person subject to the provisions of this chapter, provided that it is not inconsistent with any applicable state or federal law.
(5) conduct studies and investigations, at the request of any interested party or on his/her own initiative, regarding authorized matters or for alleged violations of this chapter or any regulations that could be adopted thereunder by the Commissioner. To such ends, he/she may require any information deemed necessary, pertinent, and essential to such purposes, as well as conduct any other investigations needed for the sound implementation of this chapter or any regulations that could be adopted thereunder by the Commissioner; take sworn statements; receive testimonies, data or information; and issue summons;
(6) require the production of documents such as books, registries, files, mail, memos, agreements, or other documents he/she may deem relevant or essential to the investigation, and inspect the same in light of the requirements of this chapter;
(7) investigate any transaction made by any person who is engaged in the mortgage loan lending or origination business and their accounts, books or registries, files and documents, when there is good reason to believe that such person is or appears to be violating the provisions of this chapter or its regulations. For purposes of this subsection, any person who advertises, requests or represents to be available to conduct any business involving mortgages loan lending, brokerage, or origination shall be considered to be engaged in the loan mortgage lending, brokerage or origination business;
(8) resort to the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico so that, in Aid of Jurisdiction, it can enforce any summons, order, requirement, or resolution issued by the Commissioner. The Court of First Instance shall be empowered to find in contempt any failure to obey said order, summons, requirement, or resolution, making compliance with the same mandatory.
(9) approve the regulations needed to implement this chapter, including, but not limited to:
(A) Background check to detect criminal history through fingerprints or other databases; civil, criminal or administrative records; credit history; or any information deemed necessary by the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry;
(B) license application or renewal fees through the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry;
(C) necessary adjustments to the dates set for renewals or filing reports;
(D) requirements and conditions of the surety bond; and
(E) requirements to amend, surrender, revoke, or cancel a license or any other activity the Commissioner deems necessary to participate in the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry.
(10) upon previous determination that a person has committed a violation of this chapter or the regulations approved thereunder, as well as of an order or administrative resolution issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, the Commissioner may issue against such person those orders deemed convenient and necessary to safeguard the public interest, among which are orders to cease and desist and orders to show cause, and initiate proceeding pursuant to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”, provided, that according to the Commissioner, said violation causes or could cause immediate serious harm to the industry, citizens, or particular persons, he/she may issue a summary order, disregarding the notice and hearing requirement, until a final judgment regarding any proceeding initiated pursuant to this section is issued;
(11) impose fines, restitution, and administrative sanctions for violations of this chapter, the regulations, and his/her orders;
(12) establish a procedure whereby the holders of any license under this chapter may challenge the information entered in the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry by the Commissioner;
(13) use the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry as an agent to request and furnish information to the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico, or to the U.S. Department of Justice or other government agency, so as to reduce the points of contact that the Federal Bureau of Investigations shall have to keep in order to comply with §§ 3055a and 3055b of this title;
(14) use the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry as an agent to request and furnish information from and to any source, as directed by the Commissioner, in order to reduce the points of contact that the Commissioner shall have to keep in order to comply with subsection (c)(2) of § 3055b of this title;
(15) establish relations or enter into contracts with the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry or other entities designated by the same to gather and maintain records and to process transaction fees or other fees related to licensees or other persons that are subject to this chapter;
(16) waive or modify, in whole or in part, all or part of the requirements of this chapter by means of general rule, regulations, or order, and establish new requirements that are reasonably necessary to participate in the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry;
(17) enter into information sharing agreements or covenants with other government agencies, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, or other associations that represent government agencies.
History —Dec. 30, 2010, No. 247, § 6.1, eff. 120 days after Dec. 30, 2010.