§ 4-1

Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate; functions, powers, and duties. The functions, powers, and duties of the Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate shall include the following: (a) to issue or refuse to issue any license as provided by this Act; (b) to revoke or suspend for cause any license issued under this Act; (c) to keep records of all licenses issued under this Act; (d) to receive, consider, investigate, and act upon complaints made by any person in connection with any residential mortgage licensee in this State; (e) (blank); (f) to prescribe the forms of and receive: (1) applications for licenses; and (2) all reports and all books and records required to be made by any licensee under this Act, including annual audited financial statements and annual reports of mortgage activity; (g) to adopt rules and regulations necessary and proper for the administration of this Act; (h) to subpoena documents and witnesses and compel their attendance and production, to administer oaths, and to require the production of any books, papers, or other materials relevant to any inquiry authorized by this Act; (h-1) to issue orders against any person, if the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that an unsafe, unsound, or unlawful practice has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur, if any person has violated, is violating, or is about to violate any law, rule, or written agreement with the Commissioner, or for the purpose of administering the provisions of this Act and any rule adopted in accordance with the Act; (h-2) to address any inquiries to any licensee, or the officers thereof, in relation to its activities and conditions, or any other matter connected with its affairs, and it shall be the duty of any licensee or person so addressed, to promptly reply in writing to such inquiries. The Commissioner may also require reports from any licensee at any time the Commissioner may deem desirable; (i) to require information with regard to any license applicant as he or she may deem desirable, with due regard to the paramount interests of the public as to the experience, background, honesty, truthfulness, integrity, and competency of the license applicant as to financial transactions involving primary or subordinate mortgage financing, and where the license applicant is an entity other than an individual, as to the honesty, truthfulness, integrity, and competency of any officer or director of the corporation, association, or other entity, or the members of a partnership; (j) to examine the books and records of every licensee under this Act at intervals as specified in Section 4-2; (k) to enforce provisions of this Act; (l) to levy fees, fines, and charges for services performed in administering this Act; the aggregate of all fees collected by the Commissioner on and after the effective date of this Act shall be paid promptly after receipt of the same, accompanied by a detailed statement thereof, into the Residential Finance Regulatory Fund under Section 4-1.5 of this Act; the amounts deposited into that Fund shall be used for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Office of Banks and Real Estate. Nothing in this Act shall prevent continuing the practice of paying expenses involving salaries, retirement, social security, and State-paid insurance of State officers by appropriation from the General Revenue Fund. (m) to appoint examiners, supervisors, experts, and special assistants as needed to effectively and efficiently administer this Act; (n) to conduct hearings for the purpose of: (1) appeals of orders of the Commissioner; (2) suspensions or revocations of licenses, or fining of licensees; (3) investigating: (i) complaints against licensees; or (ii) annual gross delinquency rates; and (4) carrying out the purposes of this Act; (o) to exercise exclusive visitorial power over a licensee unless otherwise authorized by this Act or as vested in the courts, or upon prior consultation with the Commissioner, a foreign residential mortgage regulator with an appropriate supervisory interest in the parent or affiliate of a licensee; (p) to enter into cooperative agreements with state regulatory authorities of other states to provide for examination of corporate offices or branches of those states and to accept reports of such examinations; (q) to assign an examiner or examiners to monitor the affairs of a licensee with whatever frequency the Commissioner determines appropriate and to charge the licensee for reasonable and necessary expenses of the Commissioner, if in the opinion of the Commissioner an emergency exists or appears likely to occur; (r) to impose civil penalties of up to $50 per day against a licensee for failing to respond to a regulatory request or reporting requirement; and (s) to enter into agreements in connection with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 100-783, eff. 8-10-18; 100-1153, eff. 12-19-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)