Surety Bond News

Mortgage loan originators are affected by a new law in the state of Delaware. Named SB 73, the new law demands that mortgage loan originators be licensed and covered by a surety bond in a quantity calculated by the dollar amount of the loans originated. Should the loan originator be an employee or an exclusive agent of a licensee subject to existing bond requirements, coverage under the employer’s bond can satisfy the bonding requirements. The present law asks mortgage brokers to acquire a $25,000 surety bond while mortgage lenders must acquire a surety bond of $50,000 to $200,000, based on loan volume. SB 73 requires the surety bond to supply coverage for all originators, and it leads the State Bank Commissioner to implement rules to add the bond requirements. The surety bond quantity must reflect the volume of loans originated. SB 73 was enacted on July 6th, 2009.

Delaware passed a new law, SB 168, effective upon enactment on May 15, 2008 in reference to requirements for hazardous waste facilities. If ownership of a hazardous waste facility is being transferred, the party seeking to transfer must provide all appropriate findings to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the other party in the transfer. There must be proof of financial assurance to continue to run the business within 60 days of the transfer. A surety bond, letter of credit, insurance, a guarantee, proof of assets, qualifying as a self-insurer, or any other agreement the Secretary of the Department finds acceptable is needed to ensure the regulations regarding the requirements for maintaining the facility, the amount of chemicals needed and the amount of chemical waste it produces. The new law applies to facilities reporting a total of at least one million pounds of hazardous substances or chemicals and facilities classified as a “large quantity generator” of hazardous wastes.