This section limits who may control or work in residential mortgage lending and requires commissioner approval for certain ownership changes.
§1090. Restrictions A. No license issued pursuant to this Chapter shall be sold or otherwise transferred. B.(1) No person shall acquire or control a license to make, service, or broker residential mortgage loans through the acquisition or control of fifty-one percent or more of the ownership interest in a licensee without first having obtained written approval from the commissioner, pursuant to an application for a change of control in ownership of the licensee, filed in the manner and on a form prescribed by the commissioner and accompanied by a fee of three hundred dollars. Any person who acquires controlling interest in a licensee without first having filed an application for change of control with the commissioner shall be deemed to be operating without proper authority under this Chapter and is subject to the penalties of R.S. 6:1092(C). (2) For the purposes of this Section, a person acquires or controls the licensee when at least one of the following conditions exists: (a) The person, directly or acting through one or more other persons, owns, controls, or has the power to vote any class of stock of the corporation. (b) The person controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of the corporation. (c) The commissioner determines, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, that the person directly or indirectly exercises a controlling influence over the management or the policies of the licensee. (3) When the licensee is a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership, the licensee is acquired or controlled if one of the following occurs: (a) There is a change of managers or general partners. (b) An existing manager or general partner acquires or controls the licensee as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection. (c) The commissioner determines that there has been a significant change in the membership or partnership interests, including but not limited to a change in ownership or control, directly or indirectly affecting twenty-five percent or more of the total interest of the licensee. (4) A corporation that is a licensee shall notify the commissioner within sixty days of a stockholder becoming a principal stockholder. C. No person may act as an originator in a residential loan transaction unless such person is employed by a licensed mortgage broker or mortgage lender, or by a person exempt from the provisions of this Part. D. A mortgage broker shall broker a residential mortgage loan only to a mortgage lender licensed pursuant to this Chapter, or to a mortgage lender exempt from the provisions of this Part. E. Any person licensed under this Chapter shall engage in residential mortgage lending activities only through a natural person who is licensed as a mortgage loan originator or who is exempt from the provisions of this Part. F. A licensed residential mortgage lender or broker shall enter into a residential mortgage lending transaction only with a person who is in compliance with the licensing provisions of this Chapter as a mortgage broker, mortgage lender, or mortgage loan originator. G. No residential mortgage lender is permitted to operate a "Net Branch" in this state except as permitted by rules promulgated by the commissioner. H. No person who has been denied a license or had a license revoked and has failed to request an administrative hearing pursuant to R.S. 6:1092(A), or whose revocation was affirmed in an administrative hearing, may be employed as a loan processor of residential mortgage loans or hold a position which is responsible for the operation of the principal place of business or a branch of any residential mortgage lender licensed under this Chapter. I. No person licensed pursuant to this Chapter shall engage in or be financially compensated for any loan transaction in which such person, for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, is acting as a licensee under the Louisiana Real Estate License Law, R.S. 37:1430 et seq., in connection with the same residential loan transaction. Acts 1999, No. 1098, §1, eff. July 9, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 617, §1, eff. June 22, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 875, §1; Acts 2006, No. 237, §1; Acts 2007, No. 39, §1; Acts 2009, No. 522, §1, eff. July 31, 2009; Acts 2014, No. 260, §1, eff. June 30, 2014.