LICENSURE OF MORTGAGE LENDERS AND BROKERS (WYOMING RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE PRACTICES ACT “RMPA”): The Wyoming RMPA provides that any mortgage lender or broker who is engaged in mortgage lending or mortgage brokering activities with respect to any dwelling located in Wyoming, must obtain a license from the Wyoming Banking Commissioner. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-104. Under the Wyoming RMPA, the Wyoming Banking Commissioner is conferred with examination and investigatory powers over licensed mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers, including the power to revoke or suspend licenses. The Act also sets forth certain prohibited practices, prescribing civil and criminal penalties for violations, and specifies requirements for license renewal, record keeping, establishment and maintenance of trust accounts, and disclosure of mortgage lender fees and certain loan terms.

For purposes of the Wyoming RMPA, “mortgage lending activities” are defined as accepting or offering to accept, for direct or indirect compensation, applications for making residential mortgage loans. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-102(a)(x). A “mortgage lender” is defined as any company who makes residential mortgage loans to borrowers or holds itself out as able to make mortgage loans. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-102(a)(ix). The term “residential mortgage loan” is defined in the Wyoming RMPA as a first mortgage loan that is made primarily for personal, family, or household use and that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwelling or residential real estate in Wyoming upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-102(a)(xv). The term “dwelling” is further defined as a residential structure that contains 1 to 4 units, whether or not that structure is attached to real property, or if used as a residence, an individual condominium unit, cooperative unit, mobile home, or trailer. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-102(a)(xxii).

The Wyoming RMPA defines “mortgage brokering activities” as (a) assisting or offering to assist, for direct or indirect compensation, in the preparation of an application for a residential mortgage loan on behalf of a borrower, or (b) negotiating or offering to negotiate, for direct or indirect compensation, the terms or conditions of a residential mortgage loan with any person making residential mortgage loans. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-102(a)(viii). A “mortgage broker” is defined as any company who for compensation, or in the expectation of compensation, assists a person in obtaining or applying to obtain a residential mortgage loan or holds itself out as being able to assist a person in obtaining or applying to obtain a residential mortgage loan. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-102(a)(vi).

There are several exemptions from the licensing requirements of the Wyoming RMPA. The most noteworthy statutory exemption applies to any entity licensed or chartered under the laws of any state or the United States as a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or trust company or an operating subsidiary in which an exempt entity owns or controls 80% or more of the voting stock. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-105(a)(iii). In addition, the provisions of the Wyoming RMPA do not apply to any person who (a) purchases or otherwise obtains a residential mortgage loan that has been originated, processed, and closed with the borrower by a licensee or by an exempt person, (b) does not directly or indirectly solicit borrowers in Wyoming for the purpose of making residential mortgage loans, and (c) does not participate in the negotiation of residential mortgage loans with the borrower (other than setting the terms under which a person may buy or fund a residential mortgage loan originated by a licensee or exempt person after the residential mortgage loan has closed). Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-105(a)(vi).

Each mortgage lender and mortgage broker license issued by the Wyoming Banking Commissioner under the Wyoming RMPA expires on December 31st of each year. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-109(a). In this respect, every licensee is required to license and maintain a home office as a principal location for the transaction of mortgage business, and a separate license is required for each place of business from which mortgage lending or mortgage brokering activities are directly or indirectly conducted. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-107(f). Every issued mortgage lender and mortgage broker license under the act must be renewed annually not less than 30 days before the stated expiration date. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-23-109(a).

LICENSURE OF SUPERVISED LENDERS: A consumer loan is defined in the Wyoming UCCC as a loan made by a person regularly engaged in the business of making loans in which: (i) The debtor is a person other than an organization (such as a corporation, partnership, association, and the like); (ii) The debt is incurred primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose; (iii) Either the debt is payable in installments or a loan finance charge is made; and (iv) The principal does not exceed $75,000. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-14-304. Loans that are made pursuant to a revolving loan account (such as home equity loans) and that have the 4 characteristics listed in the immediately preceding sentence also are consumer loans subject to regulation under the Wyoming UCCC. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-14-308.

Consumer loans made to Wyoming residents in which the finance charge exceeds 10% per annum as determined according to the provisions on the loan finance charge for consumer loans are deemed to be supervised loans under the Wyoming UCCC, and, depending on the nature of the lender's business, are subject to regulation under the Wyoming UCCC. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-14-341.

As a threshold matter, the Wyoming UCCC prohibits a lender from making supervised loans to Wyoming consumers unless the lender either (a) is a supervised financial organization or (b) has first obtained a license from the Wyoming Administrator authorizing the lender to make supervised loans to Wyoming consumers. Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-14-341(a) and 40-14-342. In other words, unless a lender is a supervised financial organization, it must obtain a license from the Wyoming Administrator to make supervised loans to Wyoming consumers if it is engaged in the business of (a) making supervised loans and/or (b) taking assignments of, and undertaking direct collection from or enforcement of rights against, debtors arising from supervised loans. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-14-342.

A supervised financial organization that is authorized to make supervised loans in Wyoming without a license from the Wyoming Administrator, includes any organization that is: (a) Organized, chartered, or holding an authorization certificate under the laws of Wyoming, any other state, or the United States, which authorizes the person to make loans and to receive deposits, including a savings, share, certificate, or deposit account; and (b) Subject to supervision by an official or agency of any state or of the United States. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-14-140(a)(xix). Applying this statutory definition, most state and federally chartered banks and other financial institutions that are authorized to make loans and receive deposits and that are subject to regulation by governmental authorities or agencies in other jurisdictions or by an agency of the federal government are entitled to engage in the business of making, taking assignments of, or otherwise servicing supervised loans that are originated on its own account or by another lender to Wyoming residents without first obtaining a license from the Wyoming Administrator.

LICENSURE OF MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATORS (WYOMING UCCC AND WYOMING RMPA): The Wyoming Legislature has substantively amended both the Wyoming UCCC and the Wyoming RMPA to require the licensure and regulation of certain individuals who are engaged in the business of a mortgage loan originator for any dwelling located in Wyoming. Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-14-641(b) and 40‑23-124(b).

The amended Wyoming UCCC and Wyoming RMPA both similarly define a “mortgage loan originator” as an individual who for compensation or gain or in the expectation of compensation or gain takes a residential mortgage loan application or offers or negotiates the terms of a residential mortgage loan. Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-14-640(a)(ix) and 40-23-102(a)(xxvii). Unless a mortgage loan originator falls under 1 of several exemptions set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-14-641(c) or 40-23-124(c), as applicable, he or she are now required to satisfy and comply with a number of requirements as a condition of obtaining and maintaining a mortgage loan originator license under either Act. These conditions require each applicant to be subject to criminal background checks and to demonstrate he or she will operate honestly, fairly, and efficiently if licensed as a mortgage loan originator, to satisfactorily complete a pre-licensing education requirement, and to pass a written test on several subjects specified in statute. Moreover, each licensed mortgage originator is required to register with and maintain a valid unique identifier issued by the nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry developed and maintained by the conference of state bank supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators for the licensing and registration of mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and mortgage loan originators and to satisfy specific annual continuing education requirements. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-14-643 through 40-14-645 and Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-23-125 through 40-23-128.

QUALIFICATION TO TRANSACT BUSINESS IN WYOMING: The Wyoming Business Corporation Act provides that a foreign corporation organized under the laws of a state other than Wyoming may not transact business in Wyoming until it has obtained a certificate of authority from the Wyoming Secretary of State. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 17-16-1501(a). The act, however, specifically identifies certain activities that are not considered to be transacting business in Wyoming and that thereby exempt mortgage and asset-based lenders from the requirement of obtaining a certificate of authority from the Wyoming Secretary of State. These activities include: (a) The creation or acquisition of indebtedness, mortgages, and security interests in real or personal property; (b) The securing or collection of debts or the enforcement of mortgages and security interests in property securing such debts; and (c) The transaction of business in interstate commerce. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 17-16-1501(b)(vii), (b)(viii), and (b)(xi). The same statutory provisions apply to a limited liability company or a statutory trust that is organized in another state and that is intending to transact a mortgage or asset-based lending business in Wyoming. See Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 17-16-1533 and 17-16-1534.

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Mortgage Law Summary

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Mortgage Law Summary for Wyoming