Just to clarify and reiterate what has been said here...
Tell me if I'm wrong. The below revision allows me to pay a teller for a mortgage loan referral (without them being qualified as a loan originator) as long as they don't ask credit qualifying questions during the referral.
The Bureau is revising comment 36(a)-4 to clarify that the loan originator definition,
nevertheless, does not include persons who (whether or not for or in the expectation of
compensation or gain): (1) provide general explanations, information, or descriptions in response
to consumer queries, such as explaining terminology or lending policies; (2) as employees of a
creditor or loan originator, provide loan originator or creditor contact information in response to
the consumer’s request, provided that the employee does not discuss particular transaction terms
and does not refer the consumer, based on the employee’s assessment of the consumer’s
financial characteristics, to a particular loan originator or creditor seeking to originate particular
transactions to consumers with those financial characteristics; (3) describe product-related
services; or (4) explain or describe the steps that a consumer would need to take to obtain a credit
offer, including providing general clarification on qualifications or criteria that would need to be
met that is not specific to that consumer’s circumstances.
Source:
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201301_cfpb_final-rule_loan-originator-compensation.pdf