The [tag]lending business[/tag] must embrace a licensing initiative by state banking and mortgage regulators if it is to keep from crumbling under the weight of fraud and unethical loan brokers, a proponent of that project said here last week. A national residential licensing system “has the potential to transform today’s [tag]mortgage industry[/tag] and imbue it with a level of professionalism and accountability that will make it easier for responsible mortgage companies to operate and harder for unethical companies to compete,” said Tim Doyle, vice president of industry and agency relations at the Conference of State Bank Regulators.

Creating a standardized licensing system among the states moves beyond simply raising the profile of mortgage fraud by attempting to stem the tide of unethical and illegal behavior. “It’s time to turn the dynamic around,” said Doyle, who joined CSBR recently after a stint in the public affairs department of the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he was charged with managing the issue of mortgage fraud for the association. CSBR is a professional organization representing the state banking regulators in all 50 states, the District and the U.S. Territories. In 37 of those states, banking departments also are responsible for regulating the mortgage business as well as banks. AARMR represents mortgage regulators in all states.

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