Inman

Colorado seeks better oversight of mortgage brokers

Colorado lawmakers are moving four bills aimed at strengthening oversight and licensing of mortgage brokers through the approval process.

Discrepancies in two bills intended to regulate the conduct of mortgage brokers have been resolved by adopting the less-stringent language in the Senate bill.

The House bill, HB 1322, was to have required mortgage brokers to work for the “benefit of the borrower.” The Senate version of the bill, SB 216, called for brokers to act in “good faith and fair dealing.”

With critics like the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association arguing that requiring mortgage brokers to work for the benefit of the borrower would be impractical and unenforceable, HB 1322 was amended Wednesday to conform with SB 216, the Denver Post reported.

Also moving from the House Appropriations Committee to the full House were SB 203, which would require licensing for mortgage brokers, and SB 85, which would make pressuring an appraiser or falsifying an appraisal a crime.