State Bank Commissioner updates mortgage and consumer‑credit regulations after 2024 law changes

Brock Raelert, general counsel for the Office of the State Bank Commissioner, briefed the committee on multiple updates to regulations under the Kansas Mortgage Business Act (KMBA) and the Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) following enactment of 2024 Senate Bill 406.

Raelert said the agency moved mortgages previously under the UCCC into the KMBA and harmonized parallel regulations. Among the changes: removal of an explicit signed-acknowledgement requirement tied to mortgage closings, requiring disclosure of how consumers can find mortgage-license information on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), a proposed maximum surety-bond ceiling of $1 million (to allow future flexibility), and consolidation of covered-transaction language between Articles 17 and 75.

The agency also clarified document-retention minimums for supervised lenders and consumer-credit filers and adjusted an annual filing deadline from April 30 to August 31 for certain filers. Raelert said the aim is to align state rules with recent statutory changes and to tidy duplicative language.

Committee members asked which mortgage transactions remain subject to state regulation versus federal oversight; Raelert explained national banks are federally chartered and largely outside state regulation, while state‑chartered banks and nonbank mortgage companies fall within state oversight (subject to federal preemption limits). Lawmakers also asked about the narrow slice of mortgages affected (second mortgages, loans >100% LTV, or first mortgages with interest rates over 12%); Raelert said that market share is small.

Ending: The office said the updates are largely non‑substantive realignments and clarifications tied to the 2024 statute and will proceed with the regulation process.