SECTION 81.203. Advertising

(a) A mortgage banker or originator that advertises rates, terms, or conditions must comply with the disclosure requirements of Regulation Z.

(b) Any advertisement of residential mortgage loans or for residential mortgage loan origination services which is offered by or through a mortgage banker or originator must conform to the following requirements:

(1) A mortgage banker or originator may only advertise for such products and terms as are actually available and, if availability is subject to any material requirements or limitations, the advertisement must specify those requirements or limitations.

(2) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the advertisement must contain:

(A) the name of the mortgage banker or mortgage company followed by its NMLS identification number; and

(B) the name of the sponsored originator followed by the sponsored originator's NMLS identification number.

(3) An advertisement must not make any statement or omit relevant information the result of which is to present a misleading or deceptive representation to consumers.

(4) An advertisement must comply with applicable state and federal disclosure requirements.

(c) For purposes of this section, an advertisement means a commercial message in any medium that promotes directly or indirectly, a residential mortgage loan transaction or is otherwise designed to solicit residential mortgage loan business for the mortgage banker or originator. This includes "flyers," business cards, or other handouts, and commercial messages delivered by and through a social media site. However, the requirements of subsection (b)(2) of this section do not apply to:

(1) any advertisement which indirectly promotes a residential mortgage loan transaction and which contains only the name of the mortgage banker or originator and not any contact information with the exception of a website address, such as on cups, pens or pencils, shirts or other clothing (including company uniforms and sponsored youth league jerseys), or other promotional items of nominal value;

(2) any rate sheet, pricing sheet, or similar proprietary information provided to realtors, builders, and other commercial entities that is not intended for distribution to consumers; or

(3) signs located on or adjacent to the mortgage banker's registered office as provided by §81.206 of this title (relating to Office Locations; Remote Work).

(d) Advertising Directly by a Mortgage Banker. The provisions of subsection (b) of this section notwithstanding, a mortgage banker may advertise directly to the public and not by and through a sponsored originator, and the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(B) of this section do not apply to such advertisements. An advertisement posted, promoted, disseminated, distributed, delivered, or otherwise made by an originator sponsored by the mortgage banker will not be considered an advertisement made directly by a mortgage banker for the purposes of this subsection.

Source Note: The provisions of this §81.203 adopted to be effective July 5, 2012, 37 TexReg 4873; amended to be effective September 5, 2013, 38 TexReg 5703; amended to be effective January 3, 2021, 46 TexReg 157; amended to be effective November 4, 2021, 46 TexReg 7389