HUD allows loan officers to have other employment including self-employment.
​
​ HUD Handbook 4000.1 eff 9/14/15: I A. 3 (iv) Dual Employment: “The Mortgagee must require its employees to be its employees exclusively, unless the Mortgagee has determined that the employee’s other outside employment, including any self-employment, does not create a prohibited conflict of interest” The CFPB, state regulators and the Company are concerned about potential “reputation and brand risk”.  Regulations potentially violated include: RESPA; TILA ; Loan Officer Compensation rules as well as others.
 
Some thoughts for Company policies:  Outside employment/self-employment can benefit both the Company as well as the loan officer but can lead to serious compliance problems. The Company should institute a written policy for additional employment/self-employment which should include:  

1. Nature of Employment:  Policy should state that the loan officer does not have a right to other employment but may be permitted by the Company.  Establish a non-exclusive list of prohibited additional businesses.  Examples: Realtor, title agent, credit reporting, appraiser or financial planning.
2. Approval by Company:  The Company reserves the right to deny additional employment if in its sole discretion there is a potential for reputation or brand risk or potential violation of laws, rules and regulations. 
3. Social Media use:  The loan officer must maintain separate phone, email and addresses and not mix or appear that the Company is endorsing the employment.  Marketing material and social media sites must not be “combined” with loan origination activity.
4. NMLS Consumer Site:  Require all additional employment be listed on the consumer access site.
5. Licensed Professionals: The Company might employ, as part-time loan officers, attorneys, accountants, financial planners or other licensed individuals.  The policy needs to include specific disclosures regarding the relationship between the Company and licensed professional.  The policy also should prohibit the licensed professional from receiving compensation both from loans he/she originates as well as from the professional representation.  No double dipping.    
6. Disclosure, Approval and Recertify Process:  Upon hiring require that all other employment/self-employment be disclosed and specifically approved by the Company. Thereafter the loan officer is required to disclose any changes and to re-certify annually to the Company. 
7. Family Members:  The policy should also include, at least, disclosure of close family members in prohibited business or as licensed professionals where referral relationships might occur.  This should include spouses, same sex partners, children or parents.
8. Due Diligence:  Include as part of the social media compliance a review of additional employment.

Michael J. Wallace, Esq.
President
mwallace@acuclix.com
(813) 933-2200

There are doctors, lawyers and accountants; M.D.; Esq., and CPA. These are clear, concise and denote an attained level of education and experience as well as a fiduciary relationship to the public and society itself.
 
What about the title of the employee who originates residential mortgage loans?
 
Here are some titles we have found: Loan Officer, Loan Advisor, Senior Loan Advisor, Mortgage Banker, Branch Partner; Mortgage Expert Loan Consultant, Loan Planner, Financial Planner, Mortgage Consultant, Mortgage Advisor, Mortgage Planner, Branch Manager, Area Manager, Vice President, Production Assistant, Professional Mortgage Consultant, Loan Specialist, 
 
You can also add: Senior; Registered; Licensed; and/or Certified to these titles.
 
We have also found: Business Development Guru, Mortgage Geek, Mortgage Samurai, Mortgage Guru, Certified Divorce Lending Professional; Director of First Impressions, Native American Lending Specialist, The Loan Arranger; Financial Mentor as well as Queen and King of Mortgages.
 
Sometimes there are letters or certifications added after the title: CMP or Five Star Professional.
 
All of these folks have identical credentials and perform the same function…they are licensed (registered) to originate residential mortgage loans.
 
The CFPB Examination Procedures, January 2014, Module 2 – Advertising and Marketing directs the Regulator to:
 
“8. Determine whether advertisements and promotional materials for mortgage loan products contain misleading representations that a lender or broker is acting in a fiduciary capacity or in the consumer’s best interest, if in fact, the lender or broker has no fiduciary duty.”
 
Titles do matter and can create the perception of fiduciary relationship where it does not exist or constitute a UDAAP violation subjecting the Company to reputation and regulatory risk.

To make sure your firm and your loan originators are compliant on email, in their sig lines, out on the web, and in social media ... contact our friends at AcuClix Social Media Compliance.  The contact info for their TMC dedicated resource, Mike Wallace, can be found below.
 
Michael J. Wallace, Esq.
AcuClix
mwallace@acuclix.com
(813) 933-2200

Our partners at Fannie Mae are committed to providing innovative technology solutions that make it easier for our lenders to do business, while driving greater certainty for the entire industry. Their technology suite includes applications that simplify the loan manufacturing process, facilitate quality control, and provide certainty in appraisal review.

Fannie Mae believes lenders can originate higher-quality loans when they have the right tools to develop a comprehensive, holistic view of the risks associated with each loan. For years lenders have leveraged Desktop Underwriter®/Desktop Originator® to underwrite quality loans with greater certainty. In 2015, they added Collateral Underwriter® to their technology suite to provide the industry with an automated way to assess appraisal quality.

• Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) – Fannie Mae’s industry leading automated underwriting system provides lenders with a comprehensive credit risk assessment, including action-oriented, detailed messages in its Underwriting Findings report. With frequent model updates, DU is responsive to today’s changing market. In addition, DU helps lenders to identify loan casefiles that are potentially eligible for the HomeReady™ mortgage.
• Desktop Originator® (DO®) – a companion system to DU that allows wholesale lenders to expand their reach to third-party originators.
• Collateral Underwriter® (CUTM) – a proprietary appraisal risk assessment application that supports proactive management of appraisal quality. CU provides access to the same market data and analytics used in Fannie Mae’s post-acquisition quality control process. CU’s appraisal feedback enables lenders to address potential issues earlier in the origination process and improve the overall quality of loans. CU also provides comparable sales data, mapping, market trends, public records, and more.

You may already be aware that you do not need to be an approved Fannie Mae seller/servicer to take advantage of these technology solutions. But did you know these applications and tools are widely available at no cost to lenders?

That’s right, even if you are not delivering loans directly to Fannie Mae, you can benefit from these innovative risk management solutions free of charge. 

Visit the Fannie Mae Technology Solutions page to learn more about these and other applications and tools. Fannie Mae’s Industry Partner Solutions team stands ready to assist you.