Each depositor insured to at least $250,000 per insured bank

Under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (S.A.F.E. Act) and final rules promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Farm Credit Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Office of Thrift Supervision (now part of the OCC), residential mortgage loan originators (MLOs) employed by banks, savings associations, credit unions, or Farm Credit System institutions are required to register using the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (registry), obtain a unique identifier from the registry, and maintain their registrations.

The final rule implementing the federal registration provisions of the S.A.F.E. Act took effect on October 1, 2010, at which time institutions were expected to implement appropriate policies, procedures and management systems to ensure compliance.  A notice about the initial registration period was published in the Federal Register at 76 FR 6185 (Feb. 3, 2011).

The 180-day, initial registration period began on January 31, 2011, and closed on July 29, 2011.  As of the close of the initial registration period, any employee of an agency-regulated institution who is subject to the registration requirements is prohibited from originating residential mortgage loans without first meeting these requirements.  The rules include a de minimis exception for MLOs who originated five or fewer mortgage loans during the previous 12 months and who have never been registered.  MLOs who qualify for the de minimis exception are not required to complete the federal registration process.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 transferred rulewriting authority for the SAFE Act as well as responsibility for developing and maintaining the registry to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) effective July 21, 2011. 
Further information regarding the registry and the registration process is available at the registry’s website: http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/fedreg/Pages/default.aspx.  Information about the NMLS system operators can be found at http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/about/Pages/default.aspx.

The final rule has been codified as new subpart B to Part 365 of the FDIC's Rules and Regulations (12 C.F.R. Part 365), available at http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/2000-8700.html. The footnote numbering in the Supplementary Information for the final rule was corrected in the Federal Register on August 23, 2010, and is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/C1-2010-18148.pdf.