§ 599-b. Definitions. As used in this article:

1. "Annual expiration date" means December thirty-first of each year.

2. "Depository institution" has the same meaning as in section three
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and includes any credit union.

3. "Federal banking agencies" means the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of
the Office of Thrift Supervision, the National Credit Union
Administration, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

4. "Immediate family member" means a spouse, child, sibling, parent,
grandparent, or grandchild. This includes stepparents, stepchildren,
stepsiblings and adoptive relationships.

5. "Individual" means a natural person.

6. Loan processor or underwriter-

(a) "Loan processor or underwriter" means an individual who performs
clerical or support duties as an employee at the direction of and
subject to the supervision and instruction of a person licensed, or
exempt from licensing, under this article, provided that such individual
does not represent to the public, through advertising or other means of
communicating or providing information, including the use of business
cards, stationery, brochures, signs, rate lists, or other promotional
items, that such individual can or will perform any of the activities of
a mortgage loan originator.

(b) For purposes of this subdivision, "clerical or support duties" may
include, subsequent to the receipt of an application:

(i) the receipt, collection, distribution, and analysis of information
common for the processing or underwriting of a residential mortgage
loan; and

(ii) communicating with a consumer to obtain the information necessary
for the processing or underwriting of a loan, to the extent that such
communication does not include offering or negotiating loan rates or
terms, or counseling consumers about residential mortgage loan rates or
terms.

7. Mortgage loan originator (MLO) --

(a) "Mortgage Loan Originator" means an individual who for
compensation or gain or in the expectation of compensation or gain:

(i) takes a residential mortgage loan application; or

(ii) offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan.

(b) Does not include:

(i) any individual engaged solely as a loan processor or underwriter
except as otherwise provided in subdivision four of section five hundred
ninety-nine-c of this article;

(ii) an individual who performs only real estate brokerage activities
and is licensed or registered in accordance with applicable New York
law, unless the individual is compensated by a lender, a mortgage
broker, or other mortgage loan originator or by any agent of such
lender, mortgage broker, or other mortgage loan originator; and

(iii) an individual solely involved in extensions of credit relating
to timeshare plans, as that term is defined in section 101(53D) of title
11, United States Code.

(c) For purposes of this article, "real estate brokerage activity"
means any activity that involves offering or providing real estate
brokerage services to the public, including:

(i) acting as a real estate agent or real estate broker for a buyer,
seller, lessor, or lessee of real property;

(ii) bringing together parties interested in the sale, purchase,
lease, rental, or exchange of real property;

(iii) negotiating, on behalf of any party, any portion of a contract
relating to the sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange of real
property (other than in connection with providing financing with respect
to any such transaction);

(iv) engaging in any activity for which a person engaged in the
activity is required to be registered or licensed as a real estate agent
or real estate broker under any applicable law; and

(v) offering to engage in any activity, or act in any capacity,
described in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this paragraph.

8. "Residential mortgage loan" shall mean a loan to a natural person
made primarily for personal, family or household use, secured by either
a mortgage, deed of trust or other equivalent consensual security
interest on a dwelling (as defined in section 1203(v) of the Truth in
Lending Act) or residential real property or any certificate of stock or
other evidence of ownership in, and proprietary lease from, a
corporation or partnership formed for the purpose of cooperative
ownership of residential real property and shall include any refinance
or modification of any such existing loan.

9. "Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry" (NMLSR) means a
mortgage licensing system developed and maintained by the Conference of
State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential
Mortgage Regulators for the licensing and registration of licensed
mortgage loan originators.

10. "Nontraditional mortgage product" means, for purposes of this
article, any mortgage product other than a thirty-year fixed rate
mortgage.

11. "Originating entity" means a person or entity licensed or
registered pursuant to article twelve-D of this chapter or such other
employer of mortgage loan originators as the superintendent may approve.

12. "Person" means an individual or any corporation, company, limited
liability company, partnership, association or other entity.

13. "Registered mortgage loan originator" means any individual who:

(a) Meets the definition of mortgage loan originator and is an
employee of:

(i) a depository institution;

(ii) a subsidiary that is owned and controlled by a depository
institution and regulated by a federal banking agency; or

(iii) an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration; and

(b) Is registered with, and maintains a unique identifier through, the
NMLSR.

14. "Residential real property" shall mean real property located in
this state improved by a one-to-four family residence or residential
unit in a building used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied,
wholly or partly, as the home or residence of one or more persons, but
shall not refer to unimproved real property upon which such residence is
to be constructed.

15. "Unique identifier" means a number or other identifier assigned by
protocols established by the NMLSR.