Section 030-601-IV - GENERAL PROVISIONSA.License needed. Student loan servicers must obtain a license to operate in Maine or to service Maine residents' student loans. If a servicer has more than one physical location from which it services Maine residents' loans, each location must have a separate license. A license is not transferable or assignable. A change in control must be submitted to the Bureau for prior approval. B.Application Contents. Each applicant for a license or license renewal shall provide the following information to NMLS or on such forms as the Superintendent requires.1. The applicant's full legal name, address, telephone number, website, federal Tax Identification Number or Social Security Number, as applicable.2. All locations where loan records are stored.3. All locations from which business with Maine residents will be transacted.4. All assumed or trade names under which business will be transacted.5. The name, title, address, telephone number, and email address of the individual to contact if the Bureau receives a complaint regarding the activities of the applicant.6. The name, title, address, telephone number, and email address of the individual to contact for the scheduling of routine compliance examinations.7. For foreign applicants required to register with the State of Maine prior to commencing business: a. The date and state of incorporation or founding;b. A certificate of good standing from the state of incorporation or founding;c. A complete description of the applicant's structure, including parents and subsidiaries, and identification of whether any parent or subsidiary is publicly traded on a stock exchange;d. A certified copy of the applicant's authority to do business in Maine, including every assumed or fictitious name;e. The name and address of the designated agent on whom service of process may be made in Maine; andf. The name and address of every controlling person.8. A copy of the applicant's most recent audited financial statement and, if available, audited financial statements for the immediately preceding two-year period.9. Every name, business address, residential address, and employment position for the last 10 years of each owner, partner, member, executive officer, director, manager of the location to be licensed, and controlling person. For individuals, provide a date of birth.10. Whether any owner, partner, member, executive officer, director, manager who will be in charge of the location to be licensed, or controlling person has been involved in material litigation and/or convicted of a crime in the ten (10) year period immediately prior to the application. If so, for each such instance, provide the title of the action; jurisdiction; date of disposition; a detailed explanation of the person's involvement; and a copy of the disposition, e.g., the settlement document, decision, or judgment.11. A management chart displaying the applicant's directors, members, executive officers, and managers by name, title, and duties and identifying compliance reporting and internal audit structure.13. A Chart showing (or a description which includes) the percentage of ownership of: a. Direct owners (total direct ownership percentage must equate to 100%);d. Affiliates of the applicant/licensee14. Sufficient evidence from which the Superintendent can conclude that the following persons are in all respects properly qualified and of good character: a. If the applicant is an individual, that individual;b. If the applicant is a partnership, each partner;c. If the applicant is a limited liability company or association, each member;d. If the applicant is a corporation, the president, the chair of the executive committee, the senior executive responsible for finance, the senior executive responsible for operations, each director, each trustee, and each shareholder owning 10% or more of any class of securities of the corporation.15. A consumer report for each owner, partner, member, director, executive officer, controlling person, and manager of the location to be licensed.16. Whether the applicant, any predecessor of the applicant, or controlling person has ever been denied a license in another jurisdiction; had a license revoked, been the subject of an administrative proceeding relating to the business for which it seeks to be licensed; or been convicted of a crime related to the business of money transmission, supervised lending, forgery, theft or false representation. If so, for each such instance, provide the title of the action; jurisdiction; date of disposition; a detailed explanation of the applicant's involvement; and a copy of the disposition, e.g., the settlement document, decision, or judgment.17. A copy of the applicant's quality control program.C.Automatic licensure of persons servicing student loans under contract with the United States Department of Education. In addition to the information listed in section IV(A) above, each applicant seeking automatic licensure pursuant to 9-A M.R.S. § 14-107(9) shall submit either to NMLS or to the Superintendent on required forms:1. A copy of the applicant's original signed contract with the United States Department of Education; and2. For every licensed location, a copy of the applicant's most recent contract extension with the United States Department of Education. A licensee may not act within this State as a student loan servicer under any name or at any place of business other than those named in the license(s) issued by the Bureau. Any change of location of a place of business of a licensee requires prior written notice to the Superintendent.D.Student Loan Ombudsman. The Superintendent hereby establishes the position of student loan ombudsman within the Bureau to provide timely assistance to student loan borrowers. The student loan ombudsman shall be responsible, in consultation with the Superintendent, for carrying out the duties of that position set forth in 9-A M.R.S. Article 14, including licensing and examining student loan servicers and lenders.E.Records Retention and Accessibility.A student loan servicer shall maintain adequate records of each student education loan transaction, including and all communications with a borrower, for not less than two years following the final payment on the student education loan or the assignment of the student education loan, whichever occurs first, or except as otherwise required by federal law, a federal student loan education agreement, or a contract between the Federal Government and a licensee under 9-A M.R.S. Article 14. When requested by the Superintendent, a student loan servicer shall make such records available or shall send such records to the Superintendent electronically or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by any express delivery carrier that provides a dated delivery receipt, not later than five business days after requested by the Superintendent to do so. The Superintendent may grant a licensee additional time to make such records available or to send the records to the Superintendent.
F.Loan Agreement and Contract Requirements. Except as otherwise provided in federal law, a federal student education loan agreement, or a contract between the Federal Government and a student loan servicer, a student loan servicer shall comply with the requirements of this subsection. 1. Upon receipt of a written inquiry from a student loan borrower or the representative of a student loan borrower, a student loan servicer shall respond by: a. Acknowledging receipt of the written inquiry within 10 days; andb. Within 30 days after receiving the inquiry, provide a narrative response to the inquiry including either a detailed description of the action the student loan servicer will take to correct the student loan borrower's account or an explanation of the student loan servicer's position that the borrower's account is correct.2. A student loan servicer must ask student loan borrowers how to apply an overpayment or prepayment to a student loan. A student loan borrower's direction on how to apply an overpayment or prepayment to a student loan must stay in effect for any future overpayments or prepayments during the term of a student loan until the borrower provides different directions. For purposes of this paragraph, "overpayment" or "prepayment" means a payment on a student loan in excess of the monthly amount due from a borrow on a student loan.3. A student loan servicer shall apply a partial payment or underpayment in a manner that minimizes late fees and negative credit reporting. When loans on a student loan borrower's account have an equal stage of delinquency, a student loan servicer shall apply a partial payment or underpayment to satisfy as many individual loan payments as possible on a borrower's account. For purposes of this paragraph, "partial payment" or "underpayment" means a payment on a student loan account that contains multiple individual loans in an amount less than the amount necessary to satisfy the outstanding payment due on all loans in the student loan account.4. In the event of the sale, assignment or other transfer of the servicing of a student education loan that results in a change in the identity of the person to whom a student loan borrower is required to send payments or direct any communication concerning the student education loan, as a condition of the sale, assignment or transfer, the student loan servicer shall:a. Require the new student loan servicer to honor all benefits originally represented as available to the student loan borrower during the repayment of the student education loan and preserve the availability of such benefits, including any benefits for which the student loan borrower has not yet qualified;b. Within 45 days after the sale, assignment or transfer, transfer to the new student loan servicer all information regarding the student loan borrower, the account of the student loan borrower and the student education loan of the student loan borrower, including the repayment status of the student loan borrower and any benefits associated with the student education loan of the student loan borrower; andc. Complete the sale, assignment or transfer of the servicing of the student education loan at least seven days before the next payment on the loan is due.5. A student loan servicer that obtains the right to service a student education loan shall adopt policies and procedures to verify that the student loan servicer has received all information regarding the student loan borrower, the account of the student loan borrower and the student education loan of the student loan borrower, including, but not limited to, the repayment status of the student loan borrower and any benefits associated with the student education loan of the student loan borrower.6. A student loan servicer shall evaluate a student loan borrower for a repayment program based on income prior to placing the borrower in forbearance or default, if a repayment program based on income is available to the borrower.G.Administrative authority granted to NMLS. To effectuate student loan servicer licensing in NMLS, NMLS is authorized to collect fees and remit those fees to the Bureau, collect fees for its processing costs, process and maintain license records, and require use of NMLS uniform electronic and paper forms.H.State of Maine New and Renewal Applications.After the effective date of this rule, application for a new license must be filed through NMLS. An applicant must pay the NMLS processing fee directly to NMLS. New licenses issued November 1 or later each year shall be valid through December 31 of the following year. Licenses issued before November 1 will expire on December 31 of the same year. State of Maine new and renewal license application fees assessed to each new application for a main or branch office are as follows:
1. Application and renewal fees: $1,000.00;2. Investigation fee: $800.00.I.New licenses and renewal licenses issued following completion of the transition to NMLS.New licenses and renewal licenses issued after the effective date of this rule shall be processed pursuant to the procedures established by NMLS. New licenses and renewal licenses shall be valid for the time periods established by NMLS. Application, renewal, and processing fees will be paid directly to NMLS. Renewal applications received after December 31 of any year will be considered late. The status of such licenses will be changed to "terminated," failed to renew," or an equivalent status. Such licenses may be reinstated if a renewal application is received no later than the last day of February, together with all renewal fees and a late fee of $100.00. Beginning March 1, renewal requests will not be processed, and applicants must apply for a new license.
J.Changes to existing licensing information. If any information reported by a licensee changes during a period of licensure, the licensee must amend its information on file with NMLS within 10 days of the occurrence of the change or such shorter period as required by NMLS rules or procedures. Notice of a change of control of the licensee must be provided to the Bureau in advance of notice on NMLS, and the Bureau must approve any change of control before the same becomes effective. Any change of control of a licensee which occurs without approval or which the Bureau rejects will constitute cause for revocation of licensure.K.License suspension and revocation; refusal to renew.The Superintendent may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license issued pursuant to this section or take any other action in accordance with 9-A M.R.S. Article 6 if the Superintendent finds one of the following:
1. The licensee has violated any provision of 9-A M.R.S. Article 14 or any rule or order adopted pursuant to Article 14;2. Any fact or condition exists that, if it had existed at the time of the original application for the license, would have warranted a denial of the license; or3. If any state or federal regulatory agency has brought a licensing action, civil enforcement action, or criminal action against the licensee or applicant and the Superintendent finds that action by the Bureau is in the public interest.L.Assistance and report by an exempt person.If the student loan ombudsman requests that an exempt person assist in resolving a complaint pursuant to 9-A M.R.S. §14-106, the exempt person shall:
1. Within 10 days of receiving the ombudsman's request, formally acknowledge its receipt; and2. Within 30 days of receiving the request, either:a. Provide information requested and necessary to investigate and resolve the complaint, with an explanation of steps taken by the exempt person to resolve the complaint; orb. If the exempt person resolves the complaint on its own, provide the ombudsman with all documentation regarding the resolution. On or before January 31 of every year, an exempt person that has been involved in the resolution of a complaint during the previous calendar year shall report to the ombudsman the number of complaints received and the number of complaints resolved by the exempt person in the preceding calendar year.
M.Routine technical rule. This is a routine technical rule authorized by 9-A M.R.S. §§6-105 -A(1) and 14-109(H).02-030 C.M.R. ch. 601, § IV