Examinations
1. Q: The examiners came to do my examination, but didn’t call ahead of time to make an appointment. Can they just come by unannounced?A: Yes. Examiners are allowed to arrive to conduct an examination without first making an appointment.
2. Q: How long will the examination take?A: The time spent at a Licensee’s office depends on the amount of documentation to be reviewed. Normally, the on-site portions of a typical mortgage broker examination last one or two days. For a large mortgage lender, on-site portions typically may last xx days. Examination time depends on the quality of the compliance systems of the licensee, the quality of documentation provided, the responsiveness of the licensee to information requests, and the organization of the licensee's files. For example, the fewer compliance concerns identified by an examiner, the shorter the examination is likely to take. Similarly, reviewing loan files in a consistent stacking order take less time than those that are not in a consistent stacking order.
3. Q: What if I have to cancel an examination?A: Examiner’s schedules are often set months in advance of an examination and are typically scheduled to coincide with another examination in the same general location. It is unlikely that the examiner will be able to reschedule the examination to accommodate a licensee’s schedule. Examiners have reported situations where they are told that the examination cannot be done because the owner or manager is not available. This is why it is important to make sure there is more than one person who can work with an examiner to complete the examination process.
4. Q: What are adverse action files? A: Loan applications that do not result in a closing for various reasons (loan is denied, customer withdrew, etc.)
5. Q: Who bears the cost of examinations? A: NC SAFE Act requires that the reasonable costs of examinations conducted by NCCOB be charged to the licensee. NCCOB will invoice the costs of the examination to the licensee at the time of the delivery of the Report of Examination, and as necessary thereafter. NCCOB will allow 30 days for a licensee to pay an invoice after its initial delivery, and thereafter may seek to enforce unpaid invoices against the licensee as a violation of NC SAFE and/or take action to recover the costs against the licensee’s bond.
Rev. 3/8/2010