Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) No financial
institution shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the
public, or cause directly or indirectly to be made, published, disseminated,
circulated, or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine or other
publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster,
or over any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement,
announcement or statement containing any assertion, representation or statement
with respect to the business of banking, lending or being a financial
institution or with respect to any person in the conduct of such business,
which is inaccurate, untrue, deceptive or misleading, or which negatively
affects the public's confidence in such financial institution or financial
institutions in general.
(b)
Without limiting (a) above, the following conduct shall be deemed deceptive or
misleading:
1. The advertisement of
"immediate approval" of a loan application or "immediate closing" of a loan, or
words to that effect;
2. The
advertisement of a "no-point" mortgage loan when points, as defined herein, are
charged or the advertisement of an incorrect specific number of
points;
3. The advertisement of
unqualified access to credit without clearly and conspicuously disclosing that
material limitations on the availability of such credit may exist, including,
but not limited to, limitations such as the percentage of down payment
required, that a higher interest rate or points may be required, or that
restrictions as to the maximum principal amount of the loan offered may
apply;
4. The advertisement of a
specific rate for a mortgage loan unless:
i.
The lender offers lock-in agreements to a reasonable number of qualified
applicants at that rate; or
ii. The
advertiser specifically states in the advertisement that the expressed rate is
the rate at which such loans offered by the lender are currently being closed
or committed (in cases where the lender customarily commits to close at a
specific rate) and that the rate is subject to change;
5. The advertisement of a mortgage loan by a
residential mortgage broker (or residential mortgage lender that acts merely as
a mortgage broker with regard to the advertised loan) or by a mortgage loan
originator employed by such licensee that does not specifically and
conspicuously state that the advertiser will not make any mortgage loan
commitments or fund any mortgage loans under the advertised program and does
not contain a statement that conspicuously states that the advertising
licensee, or his or her employer if the advertiser is a licensed mortgage loan
originator, arranges loans with third-party providers;
6. The advertisement of a mortgage loan or
mortgage loan services by a residential mortgage lender, correspondent mortgage
lender, residential mortgage broker or residential mortgage loan originator
without including in the advertisement or broadcast announcement, the name,
address and telephone number of the licensee and the words "licensed by the
N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance";
7. The advertisement of a deposit account
which does not comply with the requirements of the Federal Truth in Savings
Law,
12 U.S.C.
4301 et seq., and Federal Reserve Regulation
DD, 12 CFR 230; and
8. The failure
of any advertisement to comply with the provisions of
3:2-1.3.
(c) No loan or savings product may be
advertised by an entity subject to this subchapter unless the entity has the
advertised product available to a reasonable number of qualified applicants
responding to the advertisement on the date the advertisement appears, or on
the next business day if the advertisement appears on a day the advertiser is
not open for business.
(d) Nothing
in this section shall require a lender to offer any loan product to an
unqualified applicant.
