Maryland Bond increase will impact new licenses and renewals effective January 1, 2019.
The Commissioner of Financial Regulation in the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation announced this week that there are mandatory increases to the bond amounts for Maryland Consumer Loan, Installment Loan, and Credit Services Business Licenses. The change becomes effective January 1, 2019.
HB 1297 changes the maximum loan amount under the Maryland Consumer Loan Law from $6,000 to $25,000. The bond is required to be "twice the amount of the largest loan that may be made under the Maryland Consumer Loan Law." Hence the bonds under these three license types will need to be increased from $12,000 to $50,000. If you have multiple licensed locations, the bond will increase by $50k per licensed location. For example, if you have a Maryland Installment Loan license for your main location as well as 2 branches, you would need a bond in the amount of $150,000.
Cornerstone reached out to the office of the Regulator in Maryland to clarify how this will impact renewals for existing licenses that will expire 12/31/2018. They stated that they will not renew the license for 2019 until the bond has been increased.
Cornerstone will automatically process the increases for our existing bonding clients.
If you have questions about Maryland bonds, electronic bonds, or any other bonding needs, contact Cornerstone today by clicking our contact page or calling us at (888) 650-3240.
Found This Useful? Let's Get You Set Up.
Start an application and an expert will tailor the next steps to your situation.
