Does the state require a physical location within the state?
No physical presence is required in the state to maintain a first or second mortgage lender/broker license.

Is there individual loan officer licensing?
Originators employed by a first or secondary mortgage lender or broker must be individually licensed through the Connecticut Department of Banking. Upon termination of employment, the lender or broker is required to notify the Department of Banking that the originator is no longer associated with its license. Loan originators may only be registered with one licensee at a time, and must be working out of the licensee's licensed location.

What are lenders, brokers and loan officers called?
Connecticut uses the terms mortgage lender, mortgage broker and originator.

What is the cost of a license? Surety bond? Are there net worth requirements?
A license is required to originate or broker first-lien residential mortgage loans in Connecticut. The initial lender/broker license fee is $400 or $800 depending on when the application is submitted. Licenses expire on September 30 in each even-numbered year. A surety bond in the amount of $40,000 must be submitted with the application.

A financial statement must also be submitted with the application. The financial statement must be dated not more than six months prior to the filing of the application and reflect tangible net worth. If the financial statement is unaudited, the proprietor, general partner, or duly authorized officer, trustee or member shall swear to its accuracy under oath before a notary public. First mortgage lenders are required to maintain a tangible net worth of $250,000. First mortgage correspondent lenders and first mortgage brokers are required to maintain a tangible net worth of $25,000.

Individuals filing for loan originator registration must include a $50 or $100 application fee depending on when the application is submitted. The originator registration expires at the same time as the employer's lender license.

A license is also required to originate or broker second-lien residential mortgage loans in Connecticut. The combined fee for applying for a secondary mortgage lender/broker license is $400 or $800 depending on when the application is submitted. The license fee for each loan originator is $100. A financial statement must also be submitted with the application. The financial statement must be dated not more than six months prior to the filing of the application and reflect tangible net worth. Secondary mortgage lenders are required to maintain a tangible net worth of $100,000. Secondary mortgage correspondent lenders and secondary mortgage brokers are required to maintain a tangible net worth of $25,000.

Is there a pre-licensing education requirement? Is there a test?
An individual at each licensed location must be appointed supervisory authority for the location to be licensed. They must be working at the office to be licensed. This person will have authority over lending or brokerage activities and must provide a resume with the license application showing at least three years experience in the mortgage industry in the past five years. The resume must detail experience in the mortgage lending or brokering business, such as mortgage origination, mortgage processing or mortgage underwriting.

Is there a CE requirement?
No.

Are there different requirements for mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders (i.e. can you broker under a lender license?).
An entity can be licensed as either a lender/broker or broker only.

Are there any state specific high cost loan provisions?
Connecticut enacted “An Act Concerning Prepaid Finance Charges’ which became effective April 22, 2002. This act defines a “high cost home loan” and provides for numerous limitations and prohibitions on those loans with regard to balloon loans, negative amortization, default, prepayment penalties, arbitration, call provisions and other issues. To be considered a “high cost home loan” the terms of the loan must exceed at least one of the following thresholds:

• APR test - If the APR at the time of loan closing exceeds by more than 8 percentage points the yield on Treasury securities having comparable periods of maturity as of the fifteenth day of the month immediately preceding the month in which the loan application is received by the lender, the loan will be considered a high-cost home loan.
• Points and fees test - The total points and fees payable in connection with the loan exceed the following: First mortgages - the greater of $2,000 or 5 percent of the principal loan amount; Second mortgages - 8 percent of the principal loan amount.