The Commissioner of the California Department of Business Oversight on November 22 issued an order directing all DBO licensees (which would include California Finance Lender licensees and residential mortgage lender licensees, among others) to designate a single standard email address for Department communications.

The purpose of the order is to create rapid, direct communication to a dedicated email account for DBO licensed businesses to receive vital and time sensitive information, such as Commissioner’s Orders, consumer complaint filings, bulletins and other pertinent information.  The email account must be monitored daily by members of the licensee’s executive staff to ensure prompt attention be paid to electronic communications from the Commissioner and the DBO.  The email account must be established on or before January 4, 2014.

Registration of designated email addresses are to be done through the DBO’s online secure portal.  Licensees can access the portal and register an email using the login information provided in the November 25/26, 2013 letter from the Commissioner.  Additional information regarding the online registration of a designated email address can be found on the DBO’s website.

Licensees of the DBO’s Division of Financial Institutions that have previously established a designated electronic mailbox pursuant to the Order on Electronic Communications dated July 15, 2010 are not required to modify their electronic mailbox address, but are required to maintain the designated electronic mailbox and must update their electronic mail security settings as necessary to ensure messages from the DBO are received.

Mortgage loan originators licensed by the DBO will have the email they registered with NMLS automatically designated for communications with the DBO.