We had examiners in the last few weeks, in their entrance meeting discussed a mandatory SAFE act annual review that had to be done before July, and they noticed that we didn't submit this in our pre-exam packet. They stated they would get me procedures for this annual review, but it simply didn't come up again.

Anybody have procedures, example forms that state they have completed the annual review or know exactly (other than verifiying my MLOs status', this year starting to document that they have had lending training, and verify that we have updated lists available for customers) what shold be done?

I do an annual audit every December. Haven't heard the "must be done by July" requirement. PM me your email address and I can send you the checklist I use for the audit.

I just found the links to the CFPB exam and guidance documents re: the SAFE act. I had to change my BOL settings to allow me to see threads older than 3 months.

http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201203_cfpb_update_SAFE_Act_Exam_Procedures.pdf

It says "annual" - according to some of the gurus (Randy Carey is the name I'm remembering), some folks were keying off 7/29/12 as the 1 year anniversary of the registry - so that's where the July date came from.

I did this in December of 2011 and 2012 too. It only makes sense to do this at EOY for me, due to the renewal requirements.

I'm guessing my examiners found our independent auditors reports that also documented that we did this "look back". So not only did I check it, but my auditors checked it too.

Good Morning!

I am looking to revamp our annual review process.

If you could share you annual review checklist, I would greatly appreciate it. My email is betty.hamrick@mycitizensfirst.com.

Thank you,
Betty

This is what I use, it was taken from the Examination Procedures. It can be modified as needed to fit your institution

SAFE Act
Annual Compliance Review
July 17, 2017
Examination Procedures

1) Determine whether the financial institution, or any of its subsidiaries, has one or more MLO employees. For those institutions without any MLO employees, these examination procedures do not need to be completed. (12 CFR 1007.103(a)(2))

2) Determine for those financial institutions with MLO employees whether the institution has adopted written policies and procedures and conducts annual independent compliance tests to assure compliance with the SAFE Act regulation. If the institution has failed to adopt policies and procedures and to perform annual independent compliance tests, the examiners should address the violation in the examination report and require corrective action. (12 CFR 1007.104)

3) Review the financial institution’s written policies and procedures and the annual independent compliance tests to determine whether the institution has taken appropriate steps to assure compliance with the SAFE Act that at a minimum:
a) Establish a process for identifying which employees of the financial institution are required to be registered MLOs; (12 CFR 1007.104(a))

b) Require that all employees of the financial institution who are MLOs be informed of the registration requirements of the SAFE Act and the SAFE Act regulation and be instructed on how to comply with such requirements and procedures; (12 CFR 1007.104(b))

The following employees were terminated after the July 2016 review;


All required re-registrations have been properly acknowledged by NMLS-Notification.

 
c) Establish procedures to comply with the unique identifier requirements in Section 105 of the SAFE Act regulation; (12 CFR 1007.104(c))

.105 (a) - The NMLS numbers are maintained by
.105(b) (1) (2) & (3) – It is the bank’s procedure to

d) Establish reasonable procedures for confirming the adequacy and accuracy of employee registrations, including updates and renewals, by comparisons with its own records; (12 CFR 1007.104(d))

e) Establish procedures and tracking systems for monitoring compliance with registration and renewal requirements and procedures; (12 CFR 1007.104(e))

f) Provide for independent testing for compliance with the SAFE Act regulation conducted annually by institution personnel or by an outside party; (12 CFR 1007.104(f))

g) Provide for appropriate action in the case of an employee who fails to comply with the registration requirements of the SAFE Act, the SAFE Act regulation, or the financial institution’s policies and procedures, including prohibiting such employees from acting as an MLO or other appropriate disciplinary actions; (12 CFR 1007.104(g))

h) Establish a process for reviewing employee criminal history background reports received pursuant to the SAFE Act regulation, taking appropriate action consistent with applicable federal law, including Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Section 1829) and implementing regulations with respect to these reports, and maintaining records of these reports and actions taken with respect to applicable employees; and (12 CFR 1007.104(h))

i) Establish procedures designed to ensure that any third party with which the institution has arrangements related to mortgage loan origination has policies and procedures to comply with the SAFE Act, including appropriate licensing and/or registration of individuals acting as MLOs. (12 CFR 1007.104(i))

The only third party vendor that is used by the bank for NMLS requirements is Fieldprint, the authorized company for conducting the fingerprints for the NMLS.

Additional Procedures noted from the Section I of the bank’s SAFE Act policy that is not addressed by the exam procedures.

In connection with the registration of each employee who acts as a mortgage loan originator, The
Peoples State Bank must submit the following information to the Registry:

A. Confirmation that The Peoples State Bank employs the registrant; and
B. Within 30 days the registrant ceases to be an employee of The Peoples State Bank, notification that it no longer employs the registrant and the date the registrant ceased being an employee.

The appropriate documentation for compliance with these procedures were obtained and made a part to this report.

4) Any significant deficiencies in the institution’s SAFE Act regulation policies and procedures or independent compliance tests should be documented in the work papers and discussed in the examination report together with corrective actions taken.

There were no deficiencies noted in this compliance review. The review has established the bank’s personnel is knowledgeable of the SAFE Act requirements and are in compliance with both the Act’s requirements and the bank’s SAFE Act policy requirements.

This report is presented to: