Georgia Administrative Code

(1) Mortgage loan originator licenses shall expire on December 31st of each calendar year. A mortgage loan originator must meet the following requirements in order to have his or her license renewed: (a) A mortgage loan originator must continue to meet the minimum standards for l…

(1) The Department establishes the following fines and penalties for violation by mortgage loan originators of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act ("GRMA") or its rules. The Department, in its sole discretion, may waive or modify any fine based upon the gravity of the violation,…

(1) Final administrative actions taken against mortgage loan originators shall be considered public information and may be disseminated through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR) and by the Department. (2) A mortgage loan originator may challenge info…

(1) It shall be the sole responsibility of each mortgage loan originator applicant and licensee to keep current at all times his or her information on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry ("NMLSR"), including, but not limited to, his or her employment history, …

(1) An employee of a nonprofit corporation that the Department has determined is a bona fide nonprofit corporation pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1001(a)(18) and this Rule is exempt from the requirement of obtaining a mortgage loan originator license for the period of time that the D…

(1) A mortgage loan originator purporting to operate under the temporary authority requirements set forth in 12 U.S.C. § 5117 is jointly responsible with the mortgage loan originator's sponsor for ensuring that the required disclosure under Rule is provided. Nothing herein shall …

(1) As used in Chapter 80-11-6, the terms that are defined in O.C.G.A. §§ 7-1-4 and 7-1-1000 shall have the identical meaning. (2) As used in Chapter 80-11-6, the below terms shall be defined as follows unless the term is otherwise defined in a specific rule: (a) "Complete loss m…

(1) The standards set forth in this Rule apply only to persons licensed or required to be licensed under Article 13 of Chapter 1 of Title 7 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. (2) Except as set forth in paragraph (7) of this Rule, any person who services a closed-end mortg…

(1) Each servicer must maintain required books, accounts, and records at the principal place of business. Should a servicer wish to maintain such records elsewhere, it must notify the department in writing prior to said books, accounts, and records being maintained in any place o…

(1) Each servicer must maintain the following books, accounts, and records: (a) Copies of all documents required by Rule Chapter 80-11-2; (b) Servicer file for each mortgage loan that it services. The servicer file must contain the following: 1. the name of each borrower; 2. copi…

(1) As used in Chapters 80-12-1, 80-12-2, 80-12-3, 80-12-4, 80-12-5, 80-12-6, 80-12-7, 80-12-8, 80-12-9, 80-12-10, 80-12-11, and 80-12-12, the terms that are defined in O.C.G.A. § 7-9-2 shall have the identical meaning. (2) As used in Chapters 80-12-1, 80-12-2, 80-12-3, 80-12-4, …

(1) The MALPB must provide the Department with written notice of any new director, control person, principal shareholder, or executive officer, which includes, but is not limited to a chief executive officer, a chief information officer, and a chief risk officer, prior to any suc…

(1) It shall be unlawful for a person, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 7-1-230, acting directly or indirectly or in concert with one or more persons, to acquire control of any MALPB through a purchase, assignment, pledge, or other disposition of voting stock of such MALPB, except with t…

(1) A holding company shall provide the Department with the following books and records within ten (10) days after issuance of the underlying document: copies of examination reports prepared by any agency, division, or instrumentality of the United States, the State of Georgia or…

(1) The Department must approve in writing any new director, executive officer, principal shareholder, or control person of the holding company, prior to any such appointment or change taking effect, for the purpose of considering the character and fitness of such person. In orde…

(1) It shall be unlawful for: (a) a holding company to acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any MALPB, if, after such acquisition, such holding company will directly or indirectly own or control five (5) percent or more of the voting shares of s…

A holding company shall serve as a source of strength to its MALPB subsidiary and shall, upon request by the Department, provide a capital maintenance guaranty.

(1) In addition to all other enforcement actions available to it, the Department establishes the following fines and penalties for violation of the Act or its rules: (a) Deposit taking. An MALPB that takes or holds a deposit from an individual or entity other than a corporation t…

(1) The Department establishes the following fees related to the regulation of MALPBs, their holding companies, their affiliates, and their subsidiaries: (a) An application fee of $50,000 will be remitted to the Department at the time of delivery of the MALPB application. (b) In …

A corporation, organized solely under the laws of Georgia, that performs or seeks to perform merchant acquiring activities or settlement activities may apply to the Department for an MALPB charter.

Specific requirements for documents, meetings with the Department and publication of notices are contained in the Guidelines for Chartering a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank of the Department. The Department can amend its Guidelines for Chartering a Merchant Acquirer Limit…

(1) Prior to submitting an MALPB charter application, an organizing group must schedule an initial meeting with the Department to discuss the charter proposal and the chartering process. (2) The requirements for an MALPB charter application submission and documentation include, b…

(1) An MALPB charter application will not be deemed to have been received by the Department until such time as all required fees have been paid, all portions of the application form and package have been completed and filed to the satisfaction of the Department, and all required …

(1) Upon receipt of all required fees, an application form and package, and the articles of incorporation, the Department will certify one copy of the articles of incorporation and return it to the applicant in order for the applicant to comply with the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 7…

In addition to publishing the notice required by O.C.G.A. § 7-9-5(c) and Rule , the applicant shall cause a notice, which notice must be approved by the Department, to be published informing any interested parties of the opportunity to provide written comments, whether favorable …

(1) Upon issuance of the official acceptance letter required by Rule , the Department shall publish on its website that an MALPB charter application has been received and that the Department will accept comments on the application. Any party desiring to comment upon an MALPB char…

In evaluating the merits of an MALPB charter application, the Department shall consider, among other items: the financial history and condition of the applicant; adequacy of applicant capital, including, but not limited to, leverage capital ratio, PV capital, risk capital, and st…

(1) To aid it in evaluating an MALPB charter application, the Department, after consulting with the applicant, may determine that it needs to retain a third-party expert, to assist with the review and analysis of the charter application. The third-party expert will analyze the da…

(1) As part of the MALPB charter application process, the Department must approve the ownership and/or control of the applicant and the character and fitness of the directors and proposed executive officers, which includes, but is not limited to, the required positions of chief e…

(1) The determination to grant, conditionally or otherwise, or deny any application shall be in the sole discretion of the Department and such determination shall be a final action of the Department. The Department may impose conditions on any approval, including, but not limited…

(1) If an application is approved and a charter is issued, then, within one (1) year of beginning operations, the MALPB must be operating in this State with the number of resident employees required by Rule that are devoted to performing merchant acquiring activities for the MALP…

(1) After approval of a charter, but prior to engaging in any merchant acquiring activities, as set forth in Rule , an MALPB shall, in addition to the requirements in O.C.G.A. § 7-9-9, provide the Department with: written notification of any material changes to any of the represe…

(1) Unless otherwise limited by the terms of a conditional approval, an MALPB is authorized to carry out the following merchant acquiring functions: obtaining and maintaining membership in one or more payment card networks; signing up and underwriting merchants to accept payment …

(1) An MALPB is prohibited from engaging in self-acquiring activities as defined by O.C.G.A. § 7-9-2. An MALPB performing authorized merchant acquiring activities shall not be deemed to be engaged in self-acquiring activities merely because it imposes fees or other charges to mer…

The MALPB may only accept or hold deposits permitted under O.C.G.A. § 7-9-12 from a corporation that owns the majority of the shares of the MALPB and the corporation will be precluded from withdrawing its deposits by check or similar means for payment to third parties or to other…

(1) Within one year of the MALPB beginning operations, the MALPB shall have, and must continuously employ, at least fifty (50) employees that reside in this State and are devoted to performing merchant acquiring activities for the MALPB. The MALPB must immediately notify the Depa…

(1) An MALPB shall not employ an individual that has been convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction. An MALPB shall not have a director, executive officer, or control person that has been convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction. (2) An MALPB shall not knowingly have a principal…

Any advertisement of an MALPB that is made, published, disseminated or circulated, shall not suggest that it can accept deposits from the general public or otherwise attract depositors from the general public. All advertisements, whether print or electronic, shall contain the suf…

(1) An MALPB shall comply with: the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, 31 U.S.C. § 5361 et seq., and the related rules and regulations found at 12 CFR Part 233 and 31 CFR Part 132; and all international, federal, and state laws, rules, and regulations that are ap…

(1) An MALPB must notify the Department about a notification incident through email, telephone, or other similar methods that the Department may prescribe. The Department must receive this notification from the MALPB as soon as possible and no later than 36 hours after the MALPB …

(1) When necessary or appropriate for business purposes, an MALPB, or any director, officer, or employee thereof, may disclose information contained in, or related to, reports of examination issued by the Department, to a person or organization officially connected with the MALPB…

An MALPB is required to maintain its books of account in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including, but not limited to, a complete and accurate account of: all of its assets, whether in its name or the name of another person or entity; all of its liabili…

(1) Every MALPB shall have an audit of its books and records performed at least annually by independent public accountants in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The audit must be of sufficient scope to enable the auditor to render an opinion on the financial s…

The chief executive officer of each MALPB shall maintain on file a financial statement of each director of the MALPB on forms prescribed by the Department. Such financial statement shall be revised annually, but in no event shall the statement on file be more than eighteen (18) m…

(1) Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 7-1-68, the Department may require reports on the condition of or any particular facts concerning an MALPB at any time the Department deems it necessary or advisable. Each such report shall be on a form prescribed by the Department, for the timeframe re…

An MALPB must maintain the following books and records: (a) All records required to be maintained by federal, state or, if applicable, international law, rules, or regulations, including, but not limited to, the rules enacted by the Department to carry out the provisions of the A…

(1) An MALPB must maintain required books and records as set forth in Rule at its main office. In the event an MALPB wishes to maintain such records elsewhere in the State, it must notify the Department in writing prior to maintaining the books and records at any place other than…