| (a) A mortgage company or sponsored originator that
advertises rates, terms, or conditions must comply with the disclosure
requirements of Regulation Z.
(b) Any advertisement of residential mortgage loans
or for residential mortgage loan origination services which is offered
by or through a mortgage company or sponsored originator must conform
to the following requirements:
(1) a mortgage company or sponsored originator may
only advertise for such products and terms as are actually available
and, if availability is subject to any material requirements or limitations,
the advertisement must specify those requirements or limitations;
(2) except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of
this section the advertisement must contain:
(A) the name of the mortgage company followed by the
mortgage company's NMLS identification number; and
(B) the name of the sponsored originator followed by
the sponsored originator's NMLS identification number;
(3) an advertisement must not contain any statement
or omit relevant information, the result of which is to present a
misleading or deceptive representation to consumers; and
(4) an advertisement must comply with applicable state
and federal disclosure requirements.
(c) For purposes of this section, an advertisement
means a commercial message in any medium that promotes directly or
indirectly, a residential mortgage loan transaction or is otherwise
designed to solicit residential mortgage loan business for the mortgage
company or sponsored originator. This includes "flyers," business
cards, or other handouts, and commercial messages delivered by and
through a social media site. However, the requirements of subsection
(b)(2) of this section do not apply to:
(1) any advertisement which indirectly promotes a residential
mortgage loan transaction and which contains only the name of the
mortgage company or sponsored originator and not any contact information
with the exception of a website address, such as on cups, pens or
pencils, shirts or other clothing (including company uniforms and
sponsored youth league jerseys), or other promotional items of nominal
value;
(2) any rate sheet, pricing sheet, or similar proprietary
information provided to realtors, builders, and other commercial entities
that is not intended for distribution to consumers; or
(3) signs located on or adjacent to the mortgage company's
licensed office as provided by §80.206 of this title (relating
to Office Locations; Remote Work).
(d) Advertising Directly by a Mortgage Company. The
provisions of subsection (b) of this section notwithstanding, a mortgage
company may advertise directly to the public and not by and through
a sponsored originator, and the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(B)
of this section do not apply to such advertisements. An advertisement
posted, promoted, disseminated, distributed, delivered, or otherwise
made by an originator sponsored by the mortgage company will not be
considered an advertisement made directly by a mortgage company for
purposes of this subsection.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §80.203 adopted to be effective July 5, 2012, 37 TexReg 4866; amended to be effective September 5, 2013, 38 TexReg 5702; amended to be effective November 5, 2015, 40 TexReg 7623; amended to be effective January 3, 2021, 46 TexReg 151; amended to be effective November 4, 2021, 46 TexReg 7384 |
