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Mortgage companies will pay higher licensing fees and much higher fines for operating fraudulently, under a new state law signed Friday.
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Amendments to the state’s Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 will raise the annual state licensing fee to $2,700, from $2,042, and applicants may have to undergo criminal, civil and financial background checks.
The law, signed by Gov. Pat Quinn also triples, to $75,000, the maximum penalty for a mortgage fraud violation and provides some protections to mortgage licensees who act as whistleblowers and report potentially fraudulent activity.
The measure was sponsored by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) and Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago.)