Title 32, Title 32

(1) All powers and duties of regulation and supervision conferred by this chapter are vested in the department. The department shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter. (2) All rules adopted under this chapter are binding on all persons and…

(1) The department may at any time investigate any transaction with borrowers and may examine the books, accounts, and records to discover violations of this chapter by: (a) a licensee; or (b) a person who the department has reason to believe is violating or is about to violate t…

(1) The department may examine the books, accounts, and records of every licensee insofar as they relate to transactions with borrowers under this chapter. (2) The expenses of the department incurred in the examination of the books, accounts, and records of the licensees must be …

(1) Whenever the department has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating or is threatening to violate any provision of this chapter, the department may, in addition to all actions provided for in this chapter and without prejudice to those actions, bring an action i…

(1) If provided in the contract, reasonable attorney fees may be awarded to the party in whose favor final judgment is rendered in any action on a contract entered into pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. (2) In addition to any other fees authorized by this chapter, a lic…

(1) If the department determines that a person has engaged in or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted or order issued by the department pursuant to this chapter, the department may issue an order d…

(1) The department shall maintain a list of licensees that is available to interested persons and to the general public. The department shall also establish by rule a procedure under which an aggrieved consumer or any member of the public may file a complaint against a licensee o…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Montana Electronic Funds Transfer Act".

(1) The legislature has determined that electronic funds transfer systems are technologies offered by all types of financial depository institutions. These technologies provide the consumer with both convenience and efficiency in making financial transactions. Regulation E of the…

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions apply: (1) "Customer", in relation to a financial institution, means a holder of a demand or time account or a membership share in the institution or a person who is a borrower or a mortgago…

(1) A financial institution or its affiliate engaging in electronic funds transfers with its customers shall, prior to authorizing a customer to make electronic funds transfers, provide the customer with an itemized statement clearly setting forth, without limitation: (a) the spe…

(1) No information relating to any transaction by electronic funds transfer, or application therefor, between a financial institution and its customer or prospective customer may be disclosed by the financial institution to any person or government entity without: (a) the consent…

(1) A person commits the offense of unauthorized disclosure of electronic funds transfer records if the person has lawful access to the records by virtue of office or employment and: (a) permits another, who lacks lawful access to the records, to inspect, copy, or read the record…

(1) A satellite terminal must be operated to produce a humanly readable record of any transaction and to provide a copy of this record to the person initiating the transaction as soon as the transaction is complete. (2) The receipt provided to the person initiating an electronic …

(1) If, upon receipt of a periodic statement of account, a customer of a financial institution believes the statement contains an error with respect to an electronic funds transfer, the customer shall notify the institution within 60 days after the day the institution delivered t…

(1) A customer whose account is debited by an electronic funds transfer without the customer's authorization is not liable for the amount of the transaction, and the amount must be recredited to the customer's account as provided under 32-6-302 unless: (a) the financial instituti…

(1) A financial institution may not assign a personal identification number to a customer which is identical to that customer's social security account number, driver's license number, or any other number assigned for other purposes to that customer. (2) A satellite terminal may …

(1) This part must be known and may be cited as the "Regulation of Escrow Businesses Act". (2) It is the intent of the legislature that the escrow industry be supervised and regulated by the department of administration in order to protect the citizens of the state and to provide…

As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply: (1) "Department" means the department of administration as provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 10. (2) "Escrow" means any transaction in which one person, for the purpose of effect…

(1) The provisions of this part do not apply to the following: (a) a person licensed by this state pursuant to Title 37, chapter 61, as an attorney at law who is not actively engaged in the escrow business; (b) a person licensed by this state pursuant to Title 37, chapter 50, as …

In any proceeding under this part, the burden of proving an exemption or exception from a definition is upon the person claiming it.

(1) The department shall exercise general supervision and control over persons doing escrow business in this state. (2) In addition to the other duties imposed upon the department by law, the department shall: (a) adopt reasonable rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of thi…

(1) A person must be licensed pursuant to this part before engaging in an escrow business. (2) An application for a license must be in the form and submitted in the manner prescribed by the department. (3) At the time of submitting an application for a license, the applicant shal…

(1) (a) An applicant for licensure shall pay an initial license fee of $350. The annual license renewal fee is $100. The department may direct that fees charged by the department under this section be remitted to the department through a nationwide licensing system as provided in…

An escrow business license is not transferable or assignable. The provisions of this section apply to the change of ownership of a legal entity licensed as an escrow business under this part if the change of ownership involves a change of control in the entity. For purposes of th…

(1) The department may participate in a nationwide licensing system for licensing purposes under this part and may require escrow businesses to apply for licensure, in the manner that the department may direct, on application forms approved by the nationwide licensing system. (2)…

(1) A licensee shall establish and maintain the books, accounts, and records necessary to enable the department at any time to determine whether the escrow transactions performed by the licensee comply with the provisions of this part. The books, accounts, and records must be mai…

A licensee shall provide a full statement of an escrow account established under an escrow agreement within 14 days of a written request made by a party to the escrow agreement. The statement must state: (1) credits to principal; (2) interest earned for the period; and (3) other …

(1) All money deposited in an escrow to be delivered upon the close of the escrow or upon any other contingency must be deposited with a financial institution, as defined in 32-6-103, doing business in this state and must be kept separate, distinct, and apart from funds belonging…

Unauthorized business practices of escrow businesses include but are not limited to the following: (1) issuing, circulating, making use of, or publishing, by any means of communication, an advertisement indicating that a person is in the escrow business if that person is not a li…

(1) The department may investigate, upon complaint or otherwise, if it appears that: (a) an escrow business is conducting its business in an unsafe and injurious manner or in violation of this part or any rule promulgated pursuant to this part; or (b) a person is engaging in the …

(1) In the conduct of any examination, investigation, or hearing, the department may: (a) compel the attendance of any person or obtain any documents by subpoena; (b) administer oaths; (c) examine any person under oath concerning the business and conduct of affairs of any person …

(1) The department may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation if the department finds, after providing a 14-day written notice of alleged violations and opportunity for administrative hearing, that any person, any licensee, or any officer, agent, employee,…

(1) This part may be cited as the "Montana Mortgage Act". (2) The legislature recognizes that buying or financing a home is one of the largest, most complicated, and vitally important decisions facing consumers in Montana. Therefore, the legislature finds it desirable to license …

(1) Unless exempt under 32-9-104, a person may not regularly engage in the business of a mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage servicer, or mortgage loan originator with respect to any residential mortgage loan unless licensed or registered under the provisions of this part …

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Administrative or clerical tasks" mean the receipt, collection, and distribution of information common for the processing or underwriting of a loan in the mortgage industry, without performing any analysis of the informa…

(1) The provisions of this part do not apply to: (a) an entity that is an agency of the federal, state, tribal, or local government; (b) an individual who is an employee of a federal, state, tribal, local government, or housing finance agency acting as a loan originator only purs…

(1) The department may participate in the NMLS and shall require mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, mortgage servicers, and mortgage loan originators to apply for state licensure on applications approved by the NMLS. (2) The department may establish requirements through rulemaki…

An entity may be simultaneously licensed as a mortgage lender, a mortgage servicer, and a mortgage broker if the entity meets all requirements for licensure for each license type. (See part compiler's comment regarding contingent suspension.)

(1) An individual seeking a mortgage loan originator's license shall complete at least 20 hours of approved education courses, which must include at least: (a) 3 hours of training on federal law and regulations; (b) 3 hours of training in ethics, including instruction on fraud, c…

(1) An individual may not act as a designated manager without a minimum of 3 years of experience working as a mortgage loan originator or in a related field. (2) An individual may not act as a responsible individual without a minimum of 1 1/2 years of experience working as a mort…

(1) An individual seeking a mortgage loan originator's license shall submit to an examination. (2) In order to meet the examination requirement referred to in subsection (1), an individual shall pass, in accordance with the standards established under this section, a qualified wr…

(1) An applicant under this part shall apply for a state license or renewal of a license on the forms prescribed by the NMLS. The department shall use the NMLS forms and policies for all licensing actions. (2) The department may establish relationships or contracts with the NMLS …

For the department to consider an entity for a state license or license renewal, each person with control, as defined in 32-9-103, of the entity is required to independently meet the requirements established in 32-9-120(1)(a) through (1)(c) and (1)(g). (See part compiler's commen…

(1) A mortgage loan originator may transact business for only one employing mortgage broker or one employing mortgage lender licensed in accordance with the provisions of this part. (2) If the employment of a mortgage loan originator is terminated, the sponsoring mortgage broker …

(1) (a) Application fees are: (i) mortgage broker, $500; (ii) mortgage broker branch, $250; (iii) mortgage lender or mortgage servicer, $750; (iv) mortgage lender branch or mortgage servicer branch, $250; and (v) mortgage loan originator, $400. (b) A mortgage broker entity owned …