| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IN THE MATTER OF: GREAT WESTERN FINANCIAL | * * * * * * * * * * * | CONSENT ORDER |
WHEREAS, the Banking Commissioner (“Commissioner”) is charged with the administration of Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 to 36a-534c, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, “Mortgage Lenders, Correspondent Lenders, Brokers and Loan Originators”;
WHEREAS, Great Western is a Texas corporation that is currently licensed as a mortgage lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an investigation pursuant to the authority granted by Sections 36a-17(a) and 36a-498f of the Connecticut General Statutes, into the activities of Great Western to determine if it had violated, was violating or was about to violate the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner;
WHEREAS, on March 14, 2014, as a result of the investigation, the Commissioner, acting pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b), 36a-52(a) and 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, issued a Notice of Intent to Issue Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Impose Civil Penalty and Notice of Right to Hearing against Great Western;
WHEREAS, on April 22, 2014, as a result of the investigation, the Commissioner, acting pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b), 36a-52(a) and 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, issued an Amended and Restated Notice of Intent to Issue Order to Cease and Desist, Amended and Restated Notice of Intent to Impose Civil Penalty and Notice of Right to Hearing (“Amended and Restated Notice”) against Great Western, which such Amended and Restated Notice is incorporated herein by reference;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner alleged in the Amended and Restated Notice that Great Western failed to timely file a mortgage call report (“MCR”) that was due on February 14, 2014 (“Q4”), and failed to file another MCR that was due on March 31, 2014 (“2013 Financial Condition”), which conduct constituted: (1) violations of Section 36a-534b(c)(3) of Connecticut General Statutes; (2) violations of an order of the Commissioner contained in a Consent Order dated April 26, 2013 (“Consent Order”); and (3) a basis to revive allegations previously made by the Commissioner in a 2012 Notice of Intent to Issue Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Impose Civil Penalty and Notice of Right to Hearing that Great Western had failed to timely file an MCR on its respective due date, which allegations were admitted by Great Western in connection with the Consent Order. All of the foregoing violations form the basis to issue an order to cease and desist pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b) and/or 36a-52(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and to impose a civil penalty pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b) and/or 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on April 23, 2014, the Amended and Restated Notice was sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to Great Western (Certified Mail No. 70121010000172646578);
WHEREAS, on April 28, 2014, Great Western received the Amended and Restated Notice and on May 12, 2014, requested a hearing;
WHEREAS, Section 4-177(c) of the Connecticut General Statutes and Section 36a-1-55(a) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies provide that a contested case may be resolved by consent order, unless precluded by law;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner and Great Western now desire to resolve the matters alleged in the Amended and Restated Notice and set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Great Western admits that the Q4 MCR and the 2013 Financial Condition MCR described in the Amended and Restated Notice and set forth herein were not filed on their respective due dates, and acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and is a reportable event for purposes of the regulatory disclosure questions on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (“NMLS”), as applicable;
WHEREAS, Great Western voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanction described below, solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegations contained in the Amended and Restated Notice and set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Great Western herein represents to the Commissioner that it has reviewed and updated its internal policies, procedures and controls for timely and accurately filing required reports with the Commissioner through NMLS as required or as otherwise permitted under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, Great Western agrees that the Amended and Restated Notice may be used in construing the terms of this Consent Order and agrees to the language of this Consent Order;
AND WHEREAS, Great Western, through its execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agrees to waive any applicable procedural rights, including a right to a hearing as it pertains to the allegations contained in the Amended and Restated Notice and set forth herein, and voluntarily waives its right to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Consent Order.|
CONSENT TO ENTRY OF SANCTION
WHEREAS, Great Western, through its execution of this Consent Order, consents to the Commissioner’s entry of a Consent Order imposing the following sanction:
No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Great Western, Great Western shall remit to the Department of Banking by cashier’s check, certified check or money order made payable to “Treasurer, State of Connecticut”, the sum of Four Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($4,500) as a civil penalty.
CONSENT ORDER
NOW THEREFORE, the Commissioner enters the following:
| 1. | The Sanction set forth above be and is hereby entered; |
| 2. | No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Great Western, Great Western shall have satisfactorily filed on NMLS all MCRs required to date. This includes, but is not limited to, its 2014 Q1 due on May 15, 2014, and also includes, but is not limited to, completing all identified corrections in historical MCR data on file required by the results of an MCR review conducted by the Division and communicated to the company during the months of January, February and March 2014. In the future, Great Western shall timely and accurately file, and shall promptly and accurately amend, as necessary, all required reports on NMLS or as otherwise permitted under Part I of Chapter 668 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as may be required in connection with its current and any future license issued to Great Western; |
| 3. | Upon issuance of this Consent Order by the Commissioner, this matter will be resolved and the Commissioner will not take any future enforcement action against Great Western based upon the allegations set forth in the Amended and Restated Notice or contained herein; provided that issuance of this Consent Order is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Great Western based upon a violation of this Consent Order or the matters underlying its entry, if the Commissioner determines that compliance with the terms herein is not being observed or if any representation made by Great Western and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue. It is expressly understood and agreed that the subsequent failure by Great Western to timely file any required MCR within the balance of the 2014 licensing period, or any required MCR in any of the next three (3) licensing periods during which time Great Western is licensed, shall, in addition to any other remedy available to the Commissioner, form a basis for the Commissioner to fail to find that Great Western demonstrates the requisite financial responsibility, character and general fitness set forth in Section 36a-489(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes for such licensure which constitutes grounds for the Commissioner to revoke or refuse to renew the license of Great Western in Connecticut; |
| 4. | Subject to the foregoing, and so long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Great Western and its control persons on NMLS, as applicable, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Great Western to apply for or obtain licenses or renewal licenses under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes, provided all applicable legal requirements for such license are satisfied; and |
| 5. | This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 1st day of July 2014. _______/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Fred E. McDonald IV, state on behalf of Great Western Financial Services, Inc., that I have read the foregoing Consent Order; that I know and fully understand its contents; that I am authorized to execute this Consent Order on behalf of Great Western Financial Services, Inc., that Great Western Financial Services, Inc., agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that Great Western Financial Services, Inc., voluntarily agrees to enter into this Consent Order, expressly waiving the procedural rights set forth herein as to the matters described herein.
By: ________/s/___________
Name: Fred E. McDonald IV
Title: Vice President
Great Western Financial Services, Inc.
State of: Texas
County of: Collin
On this the 26 day of June 2014, before me, Kim Nerada, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Fred E. McDonald IV who acknowledged himself/herself to be the Vice-President of Great Western Financial Services, Inc., a corporation, and that he/she as such Vice-President, being authorized so to do, executed the foregoing instrument for the purposes therein contained, by signing the name of the corporation by himself/herself as Vice-President.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
_________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 07/24/2017