Any opinions on whether or not the following examples would be violations of Section 8 of RESPA?

1) Borrower closes loan with the mortgage division and at closing is given a coupon worth $50 if he/she refers another borrower to the bank and the loan closes ($50 is paid when the referred loan closes).
2) Coupons worth $50 are sent out to deposit customers and are redeemable

Yes and yes.

Can you point me to the part of the reg that would specifically prohibit this? We are thinking that since the coupon is not going to someone who provides a settlement service it is OK.

Reg X section 3500.14 prohibits the payment of a fee for the referral of a settlement service. The definition of a settlement service in 3500.2 includes the origination of a federally-related mortgage loan. "Origination" includes the taking, processing and underwriting of an application.

1) yes
2) no...at least not at face value...what is the coupon for for these deposit account holders? Is it a "bonus", "gift" or what? YOu would need to review Reg D/Q and make sure you are not violating anything within that section, however.

I was assuming that the "coupons" in example #2 were for the referral of mortgage applicants. If that is the case, this would be a prohibited referral fee even though the coupon adds an extra step, IMO.

Scamper, what would be the circumstances in which the deposit customer would receive the coupon?

The coupon for deposit customers would be part of a marketing mailing. Tell a friend about us and if they close a mortgage with us, redeem the coupon for $50.00.

I'd stay far away from that one!

we talked about a similar program scamper, and along with the issues brought up by others already, we had privacy concerns. Say your customer Ms. Jones refers Mr. Smith, and Mr. Smith gets denied. Ms. Jones calls asking for her referral fee...we certainly can't give her the loan status for Mr. Smith...

or technically, even the fact that if you DO make the loan...Ms. Jones will now know Mr. Smith is a customer.

This is definitely a Section 8 issue, as Guitar Dude assumed.