202.8—Loan correspondent lenders and mortgagees.
(a) Definitions—
Sponsor. (1) With respect to Title I programs, a sponsor is a lender that holds a valid Title I Contract of Insurance and meets the net worth requirement for the class of lender to which it belongs.
(2)
With respect to Title II programs, a sponsor is a mortgagee that holds a valid origination approval agreement, is approved to participate in the Direct Endorsement program, and meets the net worth requirement for the class of mortgagee to which it belongs.
(3)
Each sponsor shall be responsible to the Secretary for the actions of its sponsored third-party originators or mortgagees in originating loans or mortgages, unless applicable law or regulation requires specific knowledge on the part of the party to be held responsible. If specific knowledge is required, the Secretary will presume that a sponsor has knowledge of the actions of its sponsored third-party originators or mortgagees in originating loans or mortgages and the sponsor is responsible for those actions unless it can rebut the presumption with affirmative evidence.
Sponsored third-party originator. A third-party originator does not hold a Title I Contract of Insurance or Title II Origination Approval Agreement and may not purchase or hold loans but is authorized to originate Title I direct loans or Title II mortgage loans for sale or transfer to a sponsor or sponsors, as defined in this section, which holds a valid Title I Contract of Insurance or Title II Origination Approval Agreement and is not under suspension, subject to the sponsor determining that the third-party originator has met the eligibility criteria of paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) Eligibility to originate loans to be insured by FHA.
A non-approved third-party originator may originate loans to be insured by FHA, provided:
(2)
The third-party originator or an officer, partner, director, principal, manager, supervisor, loan processor, or loan originator of the third-party originator has not been subject to the sanctions or administrative actions listed in § 202.5(j), as determined and verified by the FHA-approved lender or mortgagee.
(c) Continued approval of loan correspondents through December 31, 2010.
A loan correspondent (as that term was defined under the version of this section in effect immediately before May 20, 2010) with FHA approval as of May 20, 2010 will maintain its FHA approval through December 31, 2010.