45-373.

License and registration under Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry; department; powers and duties; director; powers and duties; information sharing.

(1) The department shall require licensees to be licensed and registered through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. In order to carry out this requirement, the department is authorized to participate in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. For this purpose, the department may establish, by adopting and promulgating rules and regulations or by order, requirements as necessary. The requirements may include, but not be limited to:

(a) Background checks of applicants and licensees, including, but not limited to:

(i) Fingerprints of every executive officer, director, partner, member, sole proprietor, or shareholder submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any other governmental agency or entity authorized to receive such information for a state, national, and international criminal history record information check;

(ii) Civil or administrative records;

(iii) Credit history; or

(iv) Any other information as deemed necessary by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry;

(b) The payment of fees to apply for or renew a license through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry;

(c) Compliance with prelicensure education and testing and continuing education;

(d) The setting or resetting, as necessary, of renewal processing or reporting dates; and

(e) Amending or surrendering a license or any other such activities as the director deems necessary for participation in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.

(2) In order to fulfill the purposes of the Nebraska Installment Loan and Sales Act, the department is authorized to establish relationships or contracts with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry or other entities designated by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry to collect and maintain records and process transaction fees or other fees related to licensees or other persons subject to the act. The department may allow such system to collect licensing fees on behalf of the department and allow such system to collect a processing fee for the services of the system directly from each licensee or applicant for a license.

(3) The director is required to regularly report violations of the act pertaining to residential mortgage loans, as defined in section 45-702, as well as enforcement actions and other relevant information, to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry subject to the provisions contained in this section.

(4) The director shall establish a process whereby applicants and licensees may challenge information entered into the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry by the director.

(5) The department shall ensure that the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry adopts a privacy, data security, and security breach notification policy. The director shall make available upon written request a copy of the contract between the department and the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry pertaining to the breach of security of the system provisions.

(6) The department shall upon written request provide the most recently available audited financial report of the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.

(7) The director may use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as a channeling agent for requesting information from and distributing information to the United States Department of Justice or any other governmental agency in order to reduce the points of contact which the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have to maintain for purposes of subsection (1) of this section.

(8) In order to promote more effective regulation and reduce the regulatory burden through supervisory information sharing:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the requirements under any federal or state law regarding the privacy or confidentiality of any information or material provided to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, and any privilege arising under federal or state law, including the rules of any federal or state court, with respect to such information or material, shall continue to apply to such information or material after the information or material has been disclosed to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. Such information and material may be shared with all federal and state regulatory officials with mortgage industry oversight authority without the loss of privilege or the loss of confidentiality protections provided by federal or state law;

(b) Information or material that is subject to a privilege or confidentiality under subdivision (8)(a) of this section shall not be subject to:

(i) Disclosure under any federal or state law governing the disclosure to the public of information held by an officer or an agency of the federal government or the respective state; or

(ii) Subpoena or discovery, or admission into evidence, in any private civil action or administrative process, unless with respect to any privilege held by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry with respect to such information or material, the person to whom such information or material pertains waives, in whole or in part, in the discretion of such person, that privilege;

(c) Any state statute relating to the disclosure of confidential supervisory information or any information or material described in subdivision (1)(a) of this section that is inconsistent with such subdivision shall be superseded by the requirements of this section; and

(d) This section shall not apply with respect to the information or material relating to the employment history of, and publicly adjudicated disciplinary and enforcement actions against, applicants and licensees that is included in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry for access by the public.

(9) For these purposes, the director is authorized to enter into agreements or sharing arrangements with other governmental agencies, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, or other associations representing governmental agencies as established by adopting and promulgating rules and regulations or an order of the director.