SoFi Fined $110,000 For Unlicensed Mortgage Servicing in Pennsylvania

Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (PA DOBS) fined SoFi Lending Corp., a subsidiary of SoFi that provides mortgage finance services in the state, $110,000 for servicing mortgages without a state license.

Since June 30, 2018, companies operating as mortgage servicers in Pennsylvania must be licensed, after a state law mandating the new licensing requirements was passed in December 2017. That law gave companies six months to obtain the necessary documentation. SoFi first applied for licensure in June 2019, more than a year after the state deadline.

According to a SoFi spokeswoman in an email to American Banker, “although we believed we were properly licensed and that the fine amount is out of proportion to the underlying activity, we have opted to accept a consent order with the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities.”

“We are pleased to have this matter resolved quickly,” the spokeswoman continued.

In the third quarter of 2019, PA DOBS finalized 12 enforcement orders, with fines and assessments totaling $470,000. This includes seven Consent Agreement and Orders issued for violations of the Mortgage Licensing Act, two Consent Agreement and Orders issued for violations of the Debt Settlement Services Act, two Consent Agreement and Orders issued for violations of the Consumer Credit Code, one Order issued for violations of the Pawnbroker Licensing Act, and one Consent Agreement and Order issued for violations of the Money Transmitter Act.