The new bill from Senator Dodd is out.  Here’s the PDF and here is the Dodd amendment.  The original bill is 387 pages long and contains provisions for national loan originator licensing, puts a limit on golden parachutes, establishes a “federal housing finance agency,” and a big bucketfull of other changes including helping out the affordable housing agencies. From Yahoo news:

The Senate Banking Committee today is opening the door to opportunity for millions of Americans with its approval of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008. Senator Dodd and Senator Shelby have embraced the bipartisan principle that encouraging private investment in housing markets in general, and in affordable housing markets and low-income communities in particular, can go hand-in-hand with sound regulation. The inclusion of Senator Reeds Capital Magnet Fund will encourage continued innovation and maximize the impact of private investment in opportunity markets across the country.

However, I’m way more interested in the national loan originator licensing section.  The section is inside Senator Dodd’s amendment.

LOAN ORIGINATOR

A) IN GENERAL
The term ‘‘loan originator’’
(i) means an individual who
(I) takes a residential mortgage loan application; and
(II) offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan for compensation or gain;
(ii) does not include any individual
who is not otherwise described in clause (i) and who performs purely administrative or clerical tasks on behalf of a person who is described in any such clause; and (iii) does not include a person or entity that only performs real estate brokerage activities and is licensed or registered in accordance with applicable State law, unless the person or entity is compensated by a lender, a mortgage broker, or other loan originator or by any agent of such lender, mortgage broker, or other loan originator.

(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS RELATING TO LOAN ORIGINATOR.
For purposes of this subsection, an individual ‘‘assists a consumer in obtaining or applying to obtain a residential mortgage loan’’ by, among other things, advising on loan terms (including rates, fees, other costs), preparing loan packages, or collecting information on behalf of the consumer with regard to a residential mortgage loan.

To me this reads that we’ll be licensing LOs no matter where they work: broker, banker credit union, or consumer finance company.  Other  news: 20 hours of required, pre-licensing education and a national test delivered by the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.  75% to pass.
Incredible. I am placing my bets that this will ultimately become law.