In addition to new license protocols, an Alaska mortgage broker bond is required from ALL mortgage loan professionals that wish to do business in the state. “Mortgage brokering” activity means any person or enterprise who for compensation directly or indirectly arranges with a one or more lending sources to provide financing for mortgage loans or assists or offers to assist a borrower or potential borrower to obtain financing for mortgage loans on Alaska residential property. A license and Alaska mortgage broker bond are likewise required of any mortgage lender who is a company or sole proprietor, who consummates and funds a mortgage loan and who is named as the payee in the promissory note and as the beneficiary of the deed of trust on Alaska residential properties. The Alaska SAFE Act of 2010 was passed and signed into law with an effective date of July 1, 2010. The Alaska SAFE Act brought Alaska into compliance with Federal SAFE requirements, replacing the Alaska Mortgage Lending Regulation Act that was enacted in 2008. The Alaska mortgage broker bond requirement was not changed. All mortgage service licensees must provide a surety bond in the amount of $75,000. Sec. 06-60-045 of the Alaska statutes states that he surety bond required must run to and be for the use of the Department of Commerce, the Department of Law, or any person to recover for a claim for relief against the broker as regulated under the Act. The Alaska mortgage broker bond must state that the licensee will faithfully conform to and abide by the provisions of A.S. 06-60, and all regulations adopted under the same and will pay the Department, the Department of Law, or another person all monies that may become due or owing to said parties. The obligation requires a specific start date and obligates the surety to indemnify losses for a period of three years from the date of cancellation or revocation of a license. Surety must make claims payment(s) within ninety days of notification that the broker has sustained a violation. The Alaska mortgage broker bond form also states that the total liability for all causes of action arising during the period for which the surety bond is written cannot exceed $75,000, so it is arguable that the bond form is cumulative if the Department considers “the period” as a single license year as opposed to a surety bond written on a continuous basis, i.e., one ongoing bonding period. Surety may cancel the Alaska mortgage broker bond however it must give certified mail notice to both the broker and to the Department at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of the cancellation. A cancellation does not relieve the surety for liabilities incurred prior to the cancellation.
Surety One, Inc. is your national surety leader, and a specialist in the bonding needs of the mortgage lending and brokering services industry. We can offer both the surety and fidelity bonds required of mortgage professionals in ALL fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visit us at SuretyOne.com, call (787) 333-0222 or (800) 373-2804, or email us at Underwriting@SuretyOne.com for a Alaska mortgage broker bond application or information on ANY bond need.
