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IN THE MATTER OF: GUARDHILL FINANCIAL CORP. ("GuardHill") |
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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, GuardHill is a New York 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, on November 29, 2011, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an examination pursuant to Section 36a-17 of the 2012 Supplement to the General Statutes and Section 36a-498f of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of GuardHill 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, as a result of such examination, the Commissioner alleges that GuardHill employed or retained, during the period of April 29, 2009 through January 20, 2010, two (2) individuals as mortgage loan originators who were not licensed, in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against GuardHill, including proceedings to revoke GuardHill’s license pursuant to Section 36a-494(a) and subsections (a) and (b) of Section 36a-51 of the 2012 Supplement to the General Statutes, issue a cease and desist order against GuardHill pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2012 Supplement to the General Statutes and Section 36a-52(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and impose a civil penalty of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation on GuardHill pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2012 Supplement to the General Statutes and Section 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, initiation of such enforcement proceedings would constitute a “contested case” within the meaning of Section 4-166(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
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, both the Commissioner and GuardHill acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings, and GuardHill voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanction described below without admitting or denying any allegation contained herein and solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegation contained herein;
WHEREAS, GuardHill acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and, notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, constitutes a finding by the Commissioner that GuardHill has been involved in a violation of a financial services-related regulation or statute required to be disclosed in response to regulatory disclosure questions on the MU1 Form, MU2 Form or MU4 Form on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (“NMLS”), as such forms are applicable;
WHEREAS, GuardHill herein represents to the Commissioner that the individuals alleged to be unlicensed mortgage loan originators in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the then appliacable Connecticut General Statutes, during the period of April 29, 2009 through January 20, 2010, are either currently licensed as mortgage loan originators under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes or are no longer engaged in any mortgage-related activity with GuardHill that would prohibit GuardHill from engaging the services of such individuals without licensure as mortgage loan originators under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, GuardHill herein represents to the Commissioner that it has reviewed and updated its internal policies, procedures and controls for assessing whether an individual engaged in mortgage-related activity with GuardHill requires licensure from the Commissioner under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes, and agrees that it will not engage the services of an individual as a mortgage loan originator in the future without first confirming that such individual is duly licensed;
AND WHEREAS, GuardHill, through its execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agrees to waive its procedural rights, including a right to notice and an opportunity for hearing as it pertains to the allegation 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, GuardHill, 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 GuardHill, GuardHill 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 Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000) 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. | 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 GuardHill based upon the allegation contained herein; provided that issuance of this Consent Order is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against GuardHill 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 GuardHill and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by GuardHill on NMLS, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of GuardHill 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, and for its mortgage loan originators to apply for or obtain licensure from the Commissioner, provided all applicable legal requirements for such license are satisfied; and |
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This Consent Order shall become final when issued.
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Dated at Hartford, Connecticut
this 30th day of March 2012. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Alan Rosenbaum, state on behalf of GuardHill Financial Corp., 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 GuardHill Financial Corp.; that GuardHill Financial Corp. agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that GuardHill Financial Corp. 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:
Title:
GuardHill Financial Corp.
State of: NY
County of: New York
On this the 26 day of March 2012, before me, Alan Rosenbaum, the undersigned officer, personally appeared _______________________ who acknowledged himself/herself to be the President of GuardHill Financial Corp., a Corporation, and that he/she as such _____________________, 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 President.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 8/16/14