New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 3 - BANKING
Chapter 15 - RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDERS; CORRESPONDENT MORTGAGE LENDERS; MORTGAGE BROKERS; QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL LICENSEES; MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATORS
Subchapter 2 - LICENSING
Section 3:15-2.4 - Branch offices; branch licensing requirement; initial branch licensing application

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 3:15-2.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024

(a) Applicants for branch office licenses shall certify on a form prescribed by the Commissioner that the location of the branch office is in compliance with the requirements of this section. A branch office location at which activity as a mortgage lender or broker is conducted but at which there is no direct contact with New Jersey consumers shall be licensed and shall comply with the requirement regarding the maintenance of the confidentiality of financial information set forth in 3:15-1.3(a) and this section, with the exception of the standards prescribed in (d) below regarding the suitability of office locations at which a licensee has direct contact with New Jersey consumers. Prior to conducting activities as a mortgage lender or mortgage broker from a branch office in this State or from a branch office outside this State that include direct contact with New Jersey consumers regarding origination or brokering, the licensee shall obtain a license for the branch office from the Department.

(b) The application for a branch office license shall include the following:

1. The true name of the licensed entity and no more than three trade names or alternate names conforming to 3:15-1.4 and 1.5;

2. The address of the principal office; and

3. The address of the branch to be licensed.

(c) A licensee does not need to obtain a branch office license for an attorney's office merely because loans are closed there and fees are received there incident to the loan closing.

(d) A proposed branch at which the licensee will have direct contact with New Jersey consumers shall be in a suitable location in accordance with the suitability criteria set forth in 3:15-1.3(a).

(e) Licenses shall run from the date of issuance to the end of the current licensing period.

(f) Branch office arrangements shall be restricted as follows:

1. A branch office shall not be a separate business entity. If an office of another entity is purchased by or merged into a licensed mortgage lender or mortgage broker, the licensee shall file for a branch office license. The filing shall include documentation evidencing the acquisition and/or merger of that entity into the surviving licensed entity;

2. A branch office shall not pay its own operating expenses. Operating expenses shall include, but are not limited to, compensation of branch office employees, and payments for equipment, furniture, office rent, and other similar expenses incurred in operating a mortgage lending business;

3. A branch office shall not maintain a banking account or accounts for the payment of expenses of that branch that is separate from the account or accounts of the licensee;

4. A branch office shall not maintain contractual relationships with vendors for items such as leases, telephones, utilities, and advertising in the name of the branch office;

5. A branch office shall not maintain lines of credit, warehouse agreements, or other investor agreements that are separate from those of the business licensee; and

6. A branch office shall not indemnify the mortgage lender or mortgage broker against damages incurred from any apparent, express, or implied agency representation by or through the branch office's actions.

(g) Application fees are nonrefundable.

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