DIFS - Office of Financial and Insurance Services Offers Free Seminars for Mortgage Licensees/Registrants

Office of Financial and Insurance Services Offers Free Seminars for Mortgage Licensees/Registrants

Contact: OFIS (Toll-free) 1-877-999-6442

August 2, 2004

Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters announced today that the agency will offer free quarterly educational seminars for mortgage licensees/registrants beginning August 11 in Troy. Other seminars are scheduled for November 10 in Lansing; February 9, 2005, in Troy; and May 11, 2005, in Grand Rapids.

“Our priority at OFIS is consumer protection,” Watters said. “Meeting with key members of the mortgage industry at these seminars to review laws, policies and other important information helps to ensure that they are in compliance with all the regulations, rules and obligations,” she added.

Topics to be covered at the seminars include:

The powers of the OFIS Commissioner regarding regulation and enforcement.
The obligations of licensees/registrants including renewal procedures and filing the annual report and financial statements.
The process followed when a consumer files a complaint with OFIS and the complaints received most frequently.
A detailed look at the OFIS examination process and the most common violations found.
The OFIS enforcement process, Consumer Mortgage Protection Act and confidentiality.

Each seminar will last approximately three hours with time to address questions and concerns. Information on the times and specific locations, as well as online registration for the seminars, is available at the OFIS web site at www.michigan.gov/ofis under Quick Links by clicking on Seminar Registration and then Mortgage Seminars.

Mortgage Seminars

The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) is responsible for the regulation of Blue Cross Blue Shield, 31 HMOs, 145 banks, 270 credit unions, almost 1,500 insurance companies, 1,583 investment advisers, 2,164 securities broker-dealers, 6,000 consumer finance lenders, 105,000 insurance agents, and 120,715 securities agents.

OFIS is part of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth and is primarily fee-funded, requiring minimal public tax dollars for its regulatory and consumer assistance activities. OFIS has insurance, financial institutions and securities information available online at the OFIS web site, www.michigan.gov/ofis, or at the Michigan government home page, www.michigan.gov. All information is also available through the OFIS toll free number, 877-999-6442.