S.C. Code Ann. § 37-22-140 – Application for licensure; information required; identification of managing principal; filing fee; surety bond; issuance of license

(A) A person desiring to obtain a license pursuant to this chapter shall make application for licensure to the commissioner on forms prescribed by the commissioner. The application must contain the information the commissioner considers necessary including, but not limited to, the applicant's:
1. (1) name, address, and social security number or, if applicable, Employer Identification Number (EIN);
2. (2) form and place of organization, if applicable;
3. (3) proposed method of and locations for doing business, if applicable;
4. (4) qualifications and business history and, if applicable, the business history of any partner, officer, or director, a person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, or a person directly or indirectly controlling the applicant, including: (i) a description of any injunction or administrative order by a state or federal authority to which the person is or has been subject, including denial, suspension, or revocation of a financial services or financial services related license or registration, (ii) a conviction, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a misdemeanor within the last ten years involving financial services or a financial services related business or any fraud, false statements or omissions, theft or wrongful taking of property, bribery, perjury, forgery, counterfeiting, extortion, money laundering, breach of trust, or a conspiracy to commit any of these offenses, and (iii) a conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony;
5. (5) financial condition, credit history, and business history, with respect to an application for licensing as a mortgage lender; and credit history and business history, with respect to the application for licensing as a loan originator; and
6. (6) consent to a national and state fingerprint-based criminal history record check pursuant to Section 37-22-240 and submission of a set of the applicant's fingerprints in a form acceptable to the commissioner. In the case of an applicant that is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, or trust, each natural person who has control of the applicant or who is the managing principal or a branch manager shall consent to a national and state fingerprint-based criminal history record check pursuant to Section 37-22-240 and submit a set of that natural person's fingerprints pursuant to this item. Refusal to consent to a criminal history record check constitutes grounds for the commissioner to deny licensure to the applicant as well as to any entity: (i) by whom or by which the applicant is employed, (ii) over which the applicant has control, or (iii) as to which the applicant is the current or proposed managing principal or a current or proposed branch manager.
(B) In addition to the requirements imposed by the commissioner in subsection (A), each applicant for licensure as a loan originator shall:
1. (1) have attained the age of at least eighteen years;
2. (2) work for a licensed mortgage lender;
3. (3) have satisfactorily completed prelicensing education of at least twenty hours and a written examination approved pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. To satisfy the twenty hours of prelicensing education, an applicant may show proof of the equivalent of twenty or more semester hours of satisfactorily completed course work in real estate finance or real estate law or course work that is equivalent to the education requirements in the SAFE Act pursuant to Section 1508 of Title V of The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law 110-289 if the course work counts toward the successful completion of a degree that is baccalaureate level or more advanced with a major or minor in finance, accounting, business administration, real estate finance economics, or similar baccalaureate or more advanced degree, approved by the commissioner, from an accredited college or university. The coursework must be approved pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.;
4. (4) have never had a loan originator license revoked in any governmental jurisdiction; and
5. (5) have not been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony in a domestic, foreign, or military court: (i) during the ten-year period preceding the date of the application for licensing or (ii) at any time, if the felony involved an act of fraud, dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering.
(C) In addition to the requirements of subsection (A) of this section, each applicant for licensure as a mortgage lender at the time of application and at all times after that shall comply with the following requirements:
1. (1) If the applicant is a sole proprietor, the applicant shall have at least three years of experience in financial services or financial services related business or other experience or competency requirements as the commissioner may impose.
2. (2) If the applicant is a general or limited partnership, at least one of its general partners shall have the experience described in item (1).
3. (3) If the applicant is a corporation, at least one of its principal officers shall have the experience described in item (1).
4. (4) If the applicant is a limited liability company, at least one of its members or managers shall have the experience described in item (1).
5. (5) Instead of a showing of three years' experience, an applicant may show proof of three years' employment with a federally insured depository institution or a VA-, FHA-, or HUD-approved mortgagee.
(D) Each applicant shall identify one person meeting the requirements of subsections (B) and (C) to serve as the applicant's managing principal.
(E) Every applicant for initial licensure shall pay a filing fee of one thousand dollars for licensure as a mortgage lender or fifty dollars for licensure as a loan originator, in addition to the actual cost of obtaining credit reports and national and state fingerprint-based criminal history record checks. If a licensed loan originator changes employment, a new license must be issued and a fee of twenty-five dollars must be paid.
(F) A mortgage lender shall post and maintain a surety bond in an amount determined by the commissioner, based on the total dollar amount of mortgage loans originated in a calendar year in this State pursuant to the following: (i) dollar volume of mortgage loans from $0 to $49,999,999, surety bond of $50,000, (ii) dollar volume of mortgage loans from $50,000,000 to $249,999,999, surety bond of $100,000, (iii) dollar volume of mortgage loans greater than $250,000,000 surety bond of $150,000. In no case is the surety bond less than fifty thousand dollars. The surety bond must be executed by a surety company authorized by the laws of this State to transact business within this State. The surety bond must be in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, must be executed to the commissioner, and must be for the use of the State for the recovery of expenses, fines, and fees, or any of them, levied pursuant to this chapter and for consumers who have losses or damages as a result of noncompliance with this chapter by the mortgage lender. The full amount of the surety bond must be in effect at all times. The license of a licensee expires upon the termination of the bond by the surety company, unless a new bond is filed with the commissioner before the termination of the previous bond. If the license expires based on bond termination, all licensed activity must cease and the person must apply for a license pursuant to subsection (A).
(G) Any sole proprietor, general partner, member or manager of a limited liability company, or officer of a corporation who meets individually the requirements of subsection (B), upon payment of the applicable fee, meets the qualifications for licensure as a loan originator subject to the provisions of subsection (I).
(H) Each principal office and each branch office of a licensed mortgage lender at which business is conducted must be licensed pursuant to this chapter and must be issued a separate license. A licensed mortgage lender shall file with the commissioner an application on a form prescribed by the commissioner which identifies the address of the principal office and each branch office and branch manager. A licensing fee of one hundred fifty dollars must be assessed by the commissioner for each branch office issued a license.
(I) If the commissioner determines that an applicant meets the qualifications for licensure and finds that the financial responsibility, character, and general fitness of the applicant are such as to command the confidence of the community and to warrant belief that the business is to be operated honestly, fairly, and efficiently according to the purposes of this chapter and in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws, the commissioner shall issue a license to the applicant. If the commissioner does not make that determination, the commissioner shall refuse to license the applicant and shall notify him of the denial.
(J) Issuance of a license does not indicate approval or acceptance of any contract, agreement, or other document submitted in support of the application. A licensee may not represent that its services or contracts are approved by the State or state agency.
(K) A person who obtains a license as a mortgage lender, upon notice to the commissioner on a form prescribed by the commissioner, may act as a mortgage broker as defined in Section 37-22-110(1). The commissioner shall provide to the administrator notification of which mortgage lenders also are acting as brokers. A mortgage lender who also acts as a mortgage broker is not required to obtain a license as a mortgage broker pursuant to Chapter 58, Title 40 and is not subject to regulation by the administrator, except that the mortgage lender acting as a mortgage broker must comply with Sections 40-58-70, 40-58-75, and 40-58-78.
(L)
1. (1) A person with three years' experience as a loan originator who applies for a license as a loan originator and who has completed and filed with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry all information, documents, and requirements for licensure pursuant to this chapter and who has been assigned a unique identifier by the registry must be provided a provisional license as a loan originator before the commissioner takes action on his application if the applicant is employed by a mortgage lender licensed pursuant to this chapter and a senior officer or managing principal of that licensee attests to the commissioner that:
  1. (a) the applicant, within the six-month period before the date of application for licensure, has not been acting as a registered loan originator or a state-licensed loan originator in another state under provisions of Section 1507 of the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, and:
    1. (i) the applicant has never had a loan originator license denied, revoked, or suspended in any governmental jurisdiction;
    2. (ii) the applicant during the previous five years, ending on the date of the filing of the current application, has not had an application for a professional license denied, a professional license revoked, or any adverse action taken on a professional license;
    3. (iii) the applicant has not been convicted of a felony that would otherwise authorize the commissioner to deny a license;
    4. (iv) the application meets all of the applicable requirements of this chapter for licensure; and
    5. (v) the licensee will be responsible for the acts of the applicant during the period that such application is pending; or
  2. (b) the applicant is currently, or has within the six-month period before the date of the application, been acting as a registered loan originator or a state-licensed loan originator in another state under provisions of Section 1507 of the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 and the applicant has never had a loan originator license denied, revoked, or suspended in any governmental jurisdiction and has not been convicted of a felony that would otherwise authorize the commissioner to deny a license.
2. (2) A provisional license issued pursuant to this section expires on the earlier of the following:
  1. (a) the date upon which the commissioner issues or denies the permanent license applied for; or
  2. (b) ninety days from the date the provisional license is issued.
3. (3) The commissioner may deny or suspend the rights of a licensee pursuant to this chapter to employ a loan originator acting under item (1) of this subsection if the commissioner finds that the licensee, the senior officer, or managing principal does not make the certification or undertaking set forth in item (1)(b) of this subsection in good faith.
(M) If the information contained in a document filed with the commissioner is or becomes inaccurate or incomplete, the licensee promptly shall file a correcting amendment to the information contained in the document.
(N) All advertisements of mortgage loans must comply with the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. and the South Carolina Consumer Protection Code, Title 37.