Section 2101 - DefinitionsExcept as otherwise provided in this part:
(1) "Acting in concert" means persons knowingly acting together with a common goal of jointly acquiring control of a license whether or not pursuant to an express agreement.(2) "Commercial loan" means a loan or extension of credit that is described in 9 V.S.A. § 46(1), (2), or (4). The term does not include a loan or extension of credit secured in whole or in part by an owner-occupied, one- to four-unit dwelling.(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.(4)(A) "Control" means : (i) the power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least 25 percent of the outstanding voting shares or voting interests of a licensee or person in control of a licensee;(ii) the power to elect or appoint a majority of key individuals; or(iii) the power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the management or policies of a licensee or person in control of a licensee.(B) A person is presumed to exercise a controlling influence when the person holds the power to vote, directly or indirectly, at least 10 percent of the outstanding voting shares or voting interests of a licensee or person in control of a licensee.(C) A person presumed to exercise a controlling influence as defined by subdivision (4)(B) of this section can rebut the presumption of control if the person is a passive investor.(D) For purposes of determining the percentage of a person controlled by any other person, the person's interest shall be aggregated with the interest of any other immediate family member as defined in subdivision (9) of this section, as well as the interest of the person's mothers-and fathers-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law, and any other person who shares such person's home.(5) "Depository institution" has the same meaning as in 12 U.S.C. § 1813 and includes any bank and any savings association as defined in 12 U.S.C. § 1813. The term also includes a credit union organized and regulated as such under the laws of the United States or any state.(6) "Dwelling" has the same meaning as in 15 U.S.C. § 1602.(7) "Federal banking agencies" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any successor of any of these.(8) "Holder" means: (A) the person in possession of a negotiable instrument that is payable either to bearer or to an identified person that is the person in possession;(B) the person in possession of a negotiable tangible document of title if the goods are deliverable either to bearer or to the order of the person in possession; or(C) the person in control of a negotiable electronic document of title.(9) "Immediate family member" means a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, including stepparents, stepchildren, stepsiblings, step grandparents, step grandchildren, and adoptive relationships. The term also includes former spouses dividing property in connection with a divorce or separation.(10) "Individual" means a natural person.(11) "Insurance company" means an institution organized and regulated as such under the laws of any state.(12) "Key individual" means any individual ultimately responsible for establishing or directing policies and procedures of the licensee, such as an executive officer, manager, director, or trustee, and includes persons exercising the managerial authority of a person in control of a licensee.(13) "Licensee" means a person required to be licensed or registered under this part.(14) "Material litigation" means a litigation that according to generally accepted accounting principles is deemed significant to an applicant's or a licensee's financial health and is required to be disclosed in the applicant's or licensee's annual audited financial statements, report to shareholders, or similar records.(15) "Mortgage loan" means a loan secured primarily by a lien against real estate.(16) "Multistate licensing process" means any agreement entered into by and among state regulators relating to coordinated processing of applications for licenses, applications for the acquisition of control of a licensee, control determinations, or notice and information requirements for a change of key individuals.(17) "Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry" or "Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry" or "NMLS" means a multistate licensing system developed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators and operated by the State Regulatory Registry LLC for the licensing and registration of nondepository financial service entities in participating state agencies, or any successor to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry.(18) "Person" has the same meaning as in 1 V.S.A. § 128.(19) "Passive investor" means a person that: (A) does not have the power to elect a majority of key individuals;(B) is not employed by and does not have any managerial duties of the licensee or person in control of a licensee;(C) does not have the power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling influence over the management or policies of a licensee or person in control of a licensee; and(D) either attests to subdivisions (A), (B), and (C) of this subdivision in a form and in a medium prescribed by the Commissioner or commits to the passivity characteristics of subdivisions (A), (B), and (C) of this subdivision in a written document.(20) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.(21) "Residential mortgage loan" means a loan primarily for personal, family, or household use that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual security interest on either a dwelling or residential real estate, upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling.(22) "Residential real estate" means real property located in this State, upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling. (23) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, except that when capitalized the term means the State of Vermont.(24) "Unique identifier" means a number or other identifier assigned by protocols established by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry.(25) "Unsafe or unsound practice" means a practice or conduct by a person licensed to do business in this State that creates the likelihood of material loss, insolvency, or dissipation of the licensee's assets, or otherwise materially prejudices the interests of its customers.Amended by 2024, No. 110,§ 29, eff. 7/1/2024.Added 2019 , No. 20, § 2.