As used in this section and sections 36a-486 to 36a-498e, inclusive, 36a-498h, 36a-534a and 36a-534b, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) “Advance fee” means any consideration paid or given, directly or indirectly, by a consumer to a person for a residential mortgage loan prior to the closing of such residential mortgage loan, including, but not limited to, loan fees, points, broker's fees or commissions, transaction fees or similar prepaid finance charges; (2) “Advertise”, “advertisement” or “advertising” means the use of any announcement, statement, assertion or representation that is 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, by means of the Internet, or by other electronic means of distributing information, by personal contact, or in any other way; (3) “Branch office” means a location other than the main office at which a licensee or any person on behalf of a licensee acts as a mortgage lender, mortgage correspondent lender, mortgage broker or mortgage loan originator; (4) “Control person” means an individual that directly or indirectly exercises control over another person. Any person that (A) is a director, general partner or executive officer; (B) in the case of a corporation, directly or indirectly has the right to vote ten per cent or more of a class of any voting security or has the power to sell or direct the sale of ten per cent or more of any class of voting securities; (C) in the case of a limited liability company, is a managing member; or (D) in the case of a partnership, has the right to receive upon dissolution, or has contributed, ten per cent or more of the capital, is presumed to be a control person. For purposes of this subdivision, “control” means the power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of a company, whether through ownership of securities, by contract or otherwise; (5) “Depository institution” has the same meaning as provided in Section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 USC 1813, and includes any Connecticut credit union, federal credit union or out-of-state credit union; (6) “Dwelling” means a “dwelling”, as defined in Section 103 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 USC 1602, that is located in this state; (7) “Employee” means an individual (A) whose manner and means of work performance are subject to the right of control of, or are controlled by, a person, and (B) whose compensation is reported or required to be reported on a W-2 form issued by the controlling person. For purposes of the definition of “registered mortgage loan originator”, “employee” has the foregoing meaning or such other meaning as the federal banking agencies may issue in connection with such agencies' implementation of such agencies' responsibilities under the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, 12 USC 5101 et seq.; (8) “Federal banking agency” means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; (9) “First mortgage loan” means a residential mortgage loan that is secured by a first mortgage; (10) “Immediate family member” means a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent or grandchild and includes stepparents, stepchildren, stepsiblings and adoptive relationships; (11) “Independent contractor” means an individual retained on a basis where the individual is not an employee of any person in connection with the services such individual provides and whose compensation is reported or required to be reported on an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 issued by the retaining person; (12) “Individual” means a natural person; (13) “Lead” means any information identifying a potential consumer of a residential mortgage loan; (14) “Lead generator” means a person who, for or with the expectation of compensation or gain: (A) Sells, assigns or otherwise transfers one or more leads for a residential mortgage loan; (B) generates or augments one or more leads for another person; or (C) directs a consumer to another person for a residential mortgage loan by performing marketing services, including, but not limited to, online marketing, direct response advertising or telemarketing; (15) “Loan processor or underwriter” means an individual who performs clerical or support duties. The term “clerical or support duties” includes, subsequent to the receipt of an application, (A) the receipt, collection, distribution and analysis of information common for the processing or underwriting of a residential mortgage loan, and (B) communication with a consumer to obtain the information necessary for the processing or underwriting of a loan to the extent that such communication does not include offering or negotiating loan rates or terms or counseling consumers about residential mortgage loan rates or terms; (16) “Main office” means the main address designated on the system; (17) “Mortgage broker” (A) means a person who (i) for compensation or gain or with the expectation of compensation or gain (I) takes a residential mortgage loan application, or (II) offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan, and (ii) is not the prospective source of the funds for the residential mortgage loan, and (B) does not include (i) an individual who is licensed as a mortgage loan originator acting as a mortgage loan originator on behalf of such mortgage loan originator's sponsoring mortgage lender, mortgage correspondent lender, mortgage broker or exempt registrant, or (ii) an individual exempt from mortgage loan originator licensure under subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 36a-486 when acting within the scope of such exemption; (18) “Mortgage correspondent lender” means a person engaged in the business of making residential mortgage loans in such person's own name where the loans are not held by such person for more than ninety days and are funded by another person through a warehouse agreement, table funding agreement or similar agreement; (19) “Mortgage lender” means a person engaged in the business of making residential mortgage loans in such person's own name utilizing such person's own funds or by funding loans through a warehouse agreement, table funding agreement or similar agreement; (20) “Mortgage loan originator” means an individual who for compensation or gain or with the expectation of compensation or gain, either for such individual or for the person employing or retaining such individual, (A) takes a residential mortgage loan application, or (B) offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan. “Mortgage loan originator” does not include (i) an individual engaged solely as a loan processor or underwriter; (ii) a person who only performs real estate brokerage activities and is licensed in accordance with chapter 392, unless the person is compensated by a mortgage lender, mortgage correspondent lender, mortgage broker or other mortgage loan originator or by any agent of such mortgage lender, mortgage correspondent lender, mortgage broker or other mortgage loan originator; (iii) a person solely involved in extensions of credit relating to timeshare plans, as that term is defined in Paragraph 53D of 11 USC 101; or (iv) any individual who solely renegotiates terms for existing mortgage loans on behalf of a mortgagee and who does not otherwise act as a mortgage loan originator, unless the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection or a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, 12 USC Section 5101 et seq., requires such individual to be licensed as a mortgage loan originator under state laws implementing said S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act; (21) “Office” means a branch office or a main office; (22) “Out-of-state mortgage loan originator” means an individual who maintains a unique identifier through the system and holds a valid mortgage loan originator license issued pursuant to the laws of any state other than this state; (23) “Person” means a natural person, corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership or association; (24) “Principal amount of the loan” means the gross amount the borrower is obligated to repay including any prepaid finance charge that is financed, and any other charge that is financed; (25) “Real estate brokerage activity” means any activity that involves offering or providing real estate brokerage services to the public, including (A) acting as a real estate agent or real estate broker for a buyer, seller, lessor or lessee of real property; (B) bringing together parties interested in the sale, purchase, lease, rental or exchange of real property; (C) negotiating, on behalf of any party, any portion of a contract relating to the sale, purchase, lease, rental or exchange of real property, other than in connection with providing financing with respect to any such transaction; (D) engaging in any activity for which a person engaged in the activity is required to be registered or licensed as a real estate agent or real estate broker under any applicable law; and (E) offering to engage in any activity, or act in any capacity, described in this subdivision; (26) “Registered mortgage loan originator” means any individual who (A) meets the definition of mortgage loan originator and is an employee of a depository institution, a subsidiary that is owned and controlled by a depository institution and regulated by a federal banking agency, or an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration; and (B) is registered with and maintains a unique identifier through the system; (27) “Residential mortgage loan” means any loan, including a shared appreciation agreement, primarily for personal, family or household use that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwelling or residential real estate upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling; (28) “Residential real estate” means any real property located in this state, upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling; (29) “Secondary mortgage loan” means a residential mortgage loan that is secured, in whole or in part, by a mortgage, provided such property is subject to one or more prior mortgages; (30) “Shared appreciation agreement” means a nonrecourse obligation in which an advance sum of monetary value is extended to a consumer, as a lump sum or otherwise, in exchange for an equity interest in a dwelling, residential real estate or a future obligation to repay a sum upon the occurrence of an event, including, but not limited to, the transfer of ownership, repayment maturity date, death of the consumer or as outlined and explicitly agreed to within said agreement; (31) “Simulated check” means a document that imitates or resembles a check but is not a negotiable instrument; (32) “Sponsored” means employed or retained as an independent contractor; (33) “Table funding agreement” means an agreement wherein a person agrees to fund mortgage loans to be made in another person's name and to purchase such loans after they are made; (34) “Trigger lead” means a consumer report obtained pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681b, as amended from time to time, where the issuance of the report is triggered by an inquiry made with a consumer reporting agency in response to an application for credit; (35) “Unique identifier” means a number or other identifier assigned by protocols established by the system; and (36) “Warehouse agreement” means an agreement to provide credit to a person to enable the person to have funds to make residential mortgage loans and hold such loans pending sale to other persons.
(P.A. 85-399, S. 1; P.A. 87-9, S. 2, 3; P.A. 89-347, S. 9; P.A. 92-12, S. 87; 92-132, S. 3, 5; P.A. 94-122, S. 229, 340; P.A. 99-36, S. 23; 99-63, S. 2; P.A. 02-111, S. 2; P.A. 04-69, S. 1; P.A. 07-91, S. 1; 07-156, S. 4; P.A. 08-176, S. 31, 38; P.A. 09-209, S. 2; P.A. 11-110, S. 3; 11-216, S. 7–9; P.A. 12-96, S. 7; P.A. 14-7, S. 1; 14-89, S. 30; P.A. 17-38, S. 1; 17-233, S. 7; P.A. 18-173, S. 7; P.A. 21-138, S. 5.) History: (Revisor's note: Pursuant to P.A. 87-9 “banking commissioner” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “commissioner of banking”); P.A. 89-347 added Subsec. (g) defining “mortgage broker”; P.A. 92-12 redesignated Subdivs. and made technical changes; P.A. 92-132 added Subdiv. (8) defining “advance fee”; P.A. 94-122 deleted definitions of “commissioner” and “person”, alphabetized remaining definitions and made technical changes, effective January 1, 1995; Sec. 36-440 transferred to Sec. 36a-485 in 1995; P.A. 99-36 made a technical change; P.A. 99-63 amended Subdiv. (2) to redefine “first mortgage loan”, added new Subdivs. (7) and (8) defining “simulated check” and “advertise” or “advertisement”, and made technical changes; P.A. 02-111 redefined “advance fee” and “mortgage lender”, deleted definitions of “mortgage broker” and “principal officer” and added definitions of “first mortgage broker”, “first mortgage correspondent lender”, “first mortgage lender”, “originator”, “table funding agreement” and “warehouse agreement”, renumbering Subdivs. accordingly; P.A. 04-69 substituted “36a-498a” for “36a-498” throughout; P.A. 07-91 redefined “originator” in Subdiv. (8); P.A. 07-156 redefined “advance fee” in Subdiv. (1) to delete “or registered”, and redefined “originator” in Subdiv. (8) to insert “mortgage lender or first mortgage broker” re exclusion for officer, effective September 30, 2008; P.A. 08-176 changed effective date of P.A. 07-156, S. 4, from September 30, 2008, to July 1, 2008, redefined “advertise” or “advertisement” and “mortgage lender”, deleted definitions of “first mortgage broker”, “first mortgage correspondent lender” and “first mortgage lender”, added definitions of “branch office”, “main office”, “mortgage broker”, “mortgage correspondent lender”, “mortgage loan”, “office”, “principal amount of the loan”, and “secondary mortgage loan”, changed defined term “originator” to “mortgage loan originator” and added arrange or find mortgage loans therein, renumbered existing Subdivs. (6), (8), (9), (10), (11) and (12) as new Subdivs. (4), (10), (13), (15), (16) and (17), respectively, and made conforming and technical changes, effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 09-209 applied definitions to other licensing provisions, redefined “advance fee” in Subdiv. (1), added reference to “advertising” in Subdiv. (2), defined “control person”, “depository institution” and “federal banking agency” in new Subdivs. (4) to (6), redefined “first mortgage loan” in redesignated Subdiv. (7), defined “immediate family member”, “individual” and “loan processor” or “underwriter” in new Subdivs. (8) to (10), redefined “mortgage broker”, “mortgage correspondent lender” and “mortgage lender” in redesignated Subdivs. (12) to (14), deleted former Subdiv. (9) defining “mortgage loan”, redefined “mortgage loan originator” in redesignated Subdiv. (15), defined “person”, “real estate brokerage activity”, “registered mortgage loan originator” and “residential mortgage loan” in new Subdivs. (17) and (19) to (21), deleted former Subdiv. (13) defining “residential property”, defined “residential real estate” in new Subdiv. (22), redefined “secondary mortgage loan” in redesignated Subdiv. (23), defined “sponsored”, “system” and “unique identifier” in new Subdivs. (25), (26) and (28), and redefined “warehouse agreement” in redesignated Subdiv. (29), effective July 31, 2009; P.A. 11-110 amended Subdiv. (15) to add reference to Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, effective July 21, 2011; P.A. 11-216 amended Subdiv. (10) to change defined term to “loan processor or underwriter” and redefine same, amended Subdiv. (15) to redefine “mortgage loan originator” and amended Subdiv. (26) to add “loan processors or underwriters”; P.A. 12-96 added reference to Sec. 36a-534c re applicability of definitions, amended Subdiv. (1) to replace “36a-498a” with “36a-498f”, added new Subdivs. (6) and (7) defining “dwelling” and “employee”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (6) to (8) as Subdivs. (8) to (10), added new Subdiv. (11) defining “independent contractor”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (9) to (29) as Subdivs. (12) to (32), redefined “mortgage broker” in redesignated Subdiv. (15) and “mortgage loan originator” in redesignated Subdiv. (18), and made technical changes in redesignated Subdivs. (24) and (25); P.A. 14-7 redefined “branch office” to add reference to mortgage loan originator in Subdiv. (3), effective May 8, 2014; P.A. 14-89 redefined “branch office” to add reference to mortgage loan originator in Subdiv. (3), made a technical change in Subdiv. (15), deleted former Subdiv. (29) re definition of “system” and redesignated existing Subdivs. (30) to (32) as Subdivs. (29) to (31), effective June 3, 2014; P.A. 17-38 replaced “to 36a-534c, inclusive” with references to Secs. 36a-498h and 36a-534b, amended Subdiv. (1) to redefine “advance fee”, amended Subdiv. (6) to redefine “dwelling”, added new Subdiv. (13) defining “lead”, added new Subdiv. (14) defining “lead generator”, redesignated existing Subdivs. (13) to (29) as Subdivs. (15) to (31), added Subdiv. (32) defining “trigger lead”, redesignating Subdivs. (30) and (31) as Subdivs. (33) and (34); P.A. 17-233 amended Subdiv. (4) by redefining “control person”; P.A. 18-173 replaced reference to Sec. 36a-498f with reference to Sec. 36a-498e; P.A. 21-138 defined “out-of-state mortgage loan originator” in new Subdiv. (22), redesignated existing Subdivs. (22) to (28) as new Subdivs. (23) to (29), amended redesignated Subdiv. (27) by adding “, including a shared appreciation agreement,”, defined “shared appreciation agreement” in new Subdiv. (30), and redesignated existing Subdivs. (29) to (34) as new Subdivs. (31) to (36).