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<section article="gfi" article_name="Financial Institutions" number="12-908" title_number="12" title_name="Miscellaneous Institutions and Activities" subtitle_number="9" subtitle_name="Maryland Debt Management Services Act">
  <level label="a">
    <text>To apply for a license, an applicant shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Complete, sign, and submit to the Commissioner an application made under oath in the form, and in accordance with the process, that the Commissioner requires; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Provide all the information that the Commissioner requests.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>The application shall include:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The applicant’s legal name and any trade name used by the applicant in accordance with § 2–121 of this article, the applicant’s principal executive office address, and website address, if any, and, if the applicant is not an individual, the name and residence address of each control person, if any;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The address of each additional location, if any, that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The general public may reasonably view as a location that does business as a debt management services provider, including any location that investigates customer complaints or directly communicates with customers verbally, electronically, or in writing;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Houses any core operational infrastructure or technology systems;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Conducts any core management, information security and technology, risk and compliance, or finance functions; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Is otherwise required to be listed in NMLS by regulation the Commissioner adopts under this subtitle;</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The name and address of each owner, officer, director, and principal of the applicant who is not a control person;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant’s resident agent in the State;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>A description of the ownership interest of any officer, director, agent, or employee of the applicant in any affiliate or subsidiary of the applicant or in any other business entity that provides any service to the applicant or any consumer relating to the applicant’s debt management services business;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>The name and address of any agent acting on behalf of the applicant to manage a trust account required under § 12–917 of this subtitle;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>The applicant’s federal employer identification number;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="8">
      <text>A list of any state in which:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The applicant engages in the business of providing debt management services;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The applicant is registered or licensed to provide debt management services; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The applicant’s registration or license has been suspended or revoked;</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="9">
      <text>A statement of whether any pending judgment, tax lien, material litigation, or administrative action by any government agency exists against the applicant;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="10">
      <text>The most recent, unconsolidated financial statement of the applicant that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Is prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Includes a certified opinion audit prepared by an independent certified public accountant; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Was prepared no more than 12 months before the date of application;</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="11">
      <text>If applicable, evidence of nonprofit status under § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="12">
      <text>If the applicant is a corporation, a detailed description of the applicant’s corporate structure, including parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="13">
      <text>The applicant’s business credit report;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="14">
      <text>Evidence of general liability or fidelity insurance that insures against dishonesty, fraud, theft, or other malfeasance on the part of an employee of the applicant;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="15">
      <text>A description of the applicant’s consumer education program that is provided to consumers;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="16">
      <text>A description of the applicant’s financial analysis and initial budget plan, including any form or electronic model, that are used to evaluate the financial condition of consumers;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="17">
      <text>A copy of the debt management services agreement that the applicant will use in its debt management services business;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="18">
      <text>A copy of the applicant’s plan to ensure that each debt management counselor is certified by an independent organization within 6 months after the debt management counselor is hired, and that any employee who is a supervisor or manager of a debt management counselor is certified by an independent organization within 3 months after the employee is hired;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="19">
      <text>The most recent financial statement of each affiliate, subsidiary, or other person that provides services related to debt management services for the applicant or for any consumer;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="20">
      <text>A copy of each contract or fee–for–service arrangement between the applicant and any person that provides services related to the debt management services business;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="21">
      <text>A surety bond as required under § 12–914 of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="22">
      <text>Any other information that the Commissioner reasonably requires.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The Commissioner may refuse an application if it contains erroneous or incomplete information.</text>
  </level>
</section>
