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IN THE MATTER OF: M&G MORTGAGE ("M&G Mortgage") |
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SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT |
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, M&G Mortgage is a Connecticut corporation that is currently licensed as a mortgage correspondent lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on October 8, 2010, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an examination pursuant to Section 36a-17 of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of M&G Mortgage 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 M&G Mortgage employed or retained, during the period of August 31, 2009 through March 29, 2010, six (6) individuals as mortgage loan originators without licensing them, 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 M&G Mortgage, including proceedings to revoke M&G Mortgage’s license pursuant to Section 36a-494(a) and subsections (a) and (b) of Section 36a-51 of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes, issue a cease and desist order against M&G Mortgage pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2010 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 M&G Mortgage pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes and Section 36a-50(a) 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 agreed settlement, unless precluded by law;
WHEREAS, both the Commissioner and M&G Mortgage acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings;
WHEREAS, M&G Mortgage voluntarily agrees to enter into this Settlement Agreement without admitting or denying any allegation set forth herein, and solely for the purposes of obviating the need for formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegation described above;
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the foregoing, M&G Mortgage acknowledges that this Settlement Agreement is a public record and constitutes, for the limited purposes of satisfying M&G Mortgage’s disclosure obligations on its MU1, MU2 and MU4 Forms on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, as applicable to M&G Mortgage, a finding by the Commissioner that M&G Mortgage has been involved in a violation of a financial services-related regulation or statute;
WHEREAS, M&G Mortgage 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 applicable Connecticut General Statutes, during the period of August 31, 2009 through March 29, 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 M&G Mortgage that would prohibit M&G Mortgage 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, M&G Mortgage 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 M&G Mortgage requires licensure from the Commissioner under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
AND WHEREAS, M&G Mortgage, through its execution of this Settlement Agreement, voluntarily agrees to waive any rights to a hearing upon the allegation contained in this Settlement Agreement, and waives the right to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Settlement Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the Commissioner and M&G Mortgage enter into this Settlement Agreement as follows:
| 1. | No later than the date this Settlement Agreement is executed by M&G Mortgage, M&G Mortgage 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 Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000) as a civil penalty; |
| 2. | Upon entry of this Settlement Agreement, this matter will be resolved and the Commissioner will not take any future enforcement action against M&G Mortgage based upon the allegation contained herein; provided that entry of this Settlement Agreement is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against M&G Mortgage based on the allegation contained herein if any representations made by M&G Mortgage in this Settlement Agreement are subsequently discovered to be untrue or if M&G Mortgage is not fully complying with any term or condition stated herein; |
| 3. | Nothing in the entry of this Settlement Agreement shall adversely affect the ability of M&G Mortgage 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; |
| 4. | Notwithstanding paragraph 2 herein, execution of this Settlement Agreement is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against M&G Mortgage to enforce this Settlement Agreement if the Commissioner determines that M&G Mortgage is not fully complying with any term or condition stated herein. For purposes of this paragraph, a violation of this Settlement Agreement shall be deemed to be a violation of an order of the Commissioner. |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Settlement Agreement to be executed by each of them or their duly authorized representatives on the dates hereinafter subscribed.
Dated at Hartford, Connecticut
this 24th day of February 2011. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, John Grad, state on behalf of M&G Mortgage Services Inc, that I have read the foregoing Settlement Agreement; that I know and fully understand its contents; that I am authorized to execute this Settlement Agreement on behalf of M&G Mortgage Services Inc; that M&G Mortgage Services Inc agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the terms and conditions stated herein; and that M&G Mortgage Services Inc, voluntarily agrees to enter into this Settlement Agreement, expressly waiving any right to a hearing on the matters described herein.
By: ________/s/_________
Name: John Grad
Title: President
M&G Mortgage Services Inc
State of: Connecticut
County of: Hartford
On this the 16 day of February 2011, before me, David A. Azia, the undersigned officer, personally appeared John Grad who acknowledged himself to be the President of M&G Mortgage Services Inc, a corporation that he as such President, being authorized so to do, executed the foregoing instrument for the purposes therein contained, by signing the name of the corporation by himself as President.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Commissioner of the Superior Court