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Section 361-145 of the Connecticut General Statutes requires certain applications for a branch, of for a limited branch at which loans will be made, address how the establishment of the branch will be consistent with safe and sound banking practices and promote the public convenience and advantage.  Plans are submitted when such applications are filed and are available for public inspection and comment at this Department for a period of 30 days.  Questions concerning branch activity should be directed to the Financial Institutions Division, (860) 240-8180.

DATE: February 5, 2018

BANK:  First County Bank, Stamford

LOCATION:  1312 Post Road, Fairfield, CT  06824

ACTIVITY-BRANCH TYPE:  Opening Date - Full Service Branch

DATE: February 7, 2018

BANK:  Savings Institute Bank & Trust Company, Willimantic

LOCATION:  300 West Main Street, Northborough, MA  01532

ACTIVITY-BRANCH TYPE:  Approved - Loan Production Office

On January 29, 2018, the Commissioner entered into a Consent Order with Yapstone Holdings, Inc. f/k/a Yapstone, Inc. (NMLS # 1416359) (“Yapstone Holdings”) and YapStone, Inc. (NMLS # 1488912) (“YapStone”) Walnut Creek, California. The Consent Order was based on an investigation by the Consumer Credit Division. As a result of the investigation, the Commissioner alleged that Yapstone Holdings and YapStone engaged in the business of money transmission in Connecticut without a license, in violation of Section 36a-597(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes. To resolve the matter, Yapstone Holdings and YapStone agreed to cease and desist from engaging in the business of money transmission in this state without a license and to pay a civil penalty totaling $10,000, and Yapstone Holdings agreed to pay back licensing fees of $2,250.

On January 31, 2018, the Commissioner entered into a Consent Order with Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (NMLS # 1852) (“OLS”), Ocwen Business Solutions, Inc. (NMLS # 1283393) (“OBS”), Ocwen Mortgage Servicing, Inc. (NMLS # 1089752), Ocwen Financial Corporation, and Ocwen Financial Solutions Private Limited (NMLS # 15877), (collectively “Ocwen”), West Palm Beach, Florida. The Consent Order was based on an investigation and examination by the Consumer Credit Division. As a result of the investigation and examination, on April 20, 2017, the Commissioner issued a Temporary Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Issue Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Impose Civil Penalty and Notice of Right to Hearing against OLS and OBS (“Notice”).

The Commissioner alleged in the Notice that OLS: (1) acted as a mortgage servicer from locations that were neither licensed or exempt, in violation of Section 36a-718 of the Connecticut General Statutes, (2) conducted business covered by Sections 36a-715 to 36a-719l, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes without holding a valid license or assisted another person in the conduct of business without holding a valid license required under Title 36a, in violation of Section 36a-719h(17) of the Connecticut General Statutes, (3) knowingly misapplied or recklessly applied residential mortgage loan payments to the outstanding balance of a Connecticut borrower’s residential mortgage loan, in violation of Section 36a-719h(4) of the Connecticut General Statutes, (4) failed to accurate apply residential mortgage loan payments, in violation of a prior order of the Commissioner, (5) knowingly misapplied or recklessly applied payments to escrow accounts of a Connecticut borrower, in violation of Section 36a-719h(5) of the Connecticut General Statutes, (6) failed to disclose to Connecticut borrowers the schedule of the ranges and categories of costs and fees for its servicing-related activities, in violation of Section 36a-719e(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, (7) failed to maintain sufficient records in connection with the servicing of residential mortgage loans in Connecticut, in violation of Section 36a-719d(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, (8) failed to provide a short year escrow statement to a borrower, in violation of Section 36a-498e(7) of the Connecticut General Statutes, (9) failed to pay escrow disbursements to the appropriate taxing authorities and insurance companies, in violation of Section 36a-716(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and (10) provided incorrect or incomplete information to a Connecticut borrower concerning the borrower’s pending foreclosure action, in violation of Section 36a-719h(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes. The Commissioner also alleged that OBS acted as consumer collection agency in this state without a license, in violation of Section 36a-801(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes.

To resolve the matter, among other items, Ocwen agreed to: (1) not acquire any residential mortgage servicing rights until April 30, 2018, (2) not board any new mortgage loans onto its REALServicing platform at any time, (3) perform an escrow account audit to review a statistically significant representative sample of escrowed mortgage loans serviced by Ocwen between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2017, and to satisfactorily remediate findings from the audit, (4) review a sample of escrow account disclosure statements prepared by Ocwen for Connecticut borrowers, (5) provide periodic reports of financial condition, (6) not act as a mortgage servicer or consumer collection agency in Connecticut without a license, (7) conduct at least one loss mitigation outreach event in Connecticut in 2018, (8) report written borrower complaints to the Commissioner on a quarterly basis, (9) develop a dedicated hotline to handle escrow-related inquiries from Connecticut borrowers, and (10) pay specified monetary penalties in the future for failure to comply with certain requirements of the Consent Order.

On January 26, 2018, the Commissioner entered into a Consent Order with MLD Mortgage, Inc. dba The Money Store, and Mortgage Lending Direct (NMLS # 1019) (“MLD Mortgage”) Florham Park, New Jersey. The Consent Order was based on a multi-state examination performed by Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Carolina (“Participating States”), each of whom is a party to the Consent Order. As a result of the multi-state examination, the Commissioner, together with the Participating States, alleged that MLD Mortgage violated various provisions of the statutes governing mortgage lending and mortgage origination in Connecticut, including, without limitation, statutes requiring licensure by mortgage loan originators and statutes prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices. As part of the Consent Order, MLD Mortgage agreed to: (1) create a “zero tolerance” policy forbidding alteration or changes to documents signed by mortgage applicants, (2) create and implement a comprehensive compliance plan designed to ensure that MLD Mortgage’s operations will comply with all applicable Connecticut and federal financial consumer protection laws and regulations and the terms of the Consent Order, which plan must include mandatory business ethics education for employees greater than required by law and comprehensive internal audit and risk management programs, (3) employ a chief enterprise risk officer, (4) submit a random sampling of its loans to an external independent audit firm to further assess MLD Mortgage’s compliance with mortgage laws, (5) submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner about its implementation of the Consent Order, and (6) require its employees with supervisory authority to report to their managers or supervisors that they are overseeing the activities of their subordinates. MLD Mortgage also agreed to distribute the Consent Order to each of its employees. Finally, MLD Mortgage agreed to not violate any of the relevant statutes underlying its mortgage business and paid a $720,000 civil penalty to the Participating States in accordance with a payment schedule.