Misleading use of the current lender’s name. A creditor may not use the name of the consumer’s current lender in an advertisement that is not sent by or on behalf of the consumer’s current lender, unless the advertisement: (i) Discloses with equal prominence the name of the person or creditor making the advertisement; and (ii) Includes a clear and conspicuous statement that the person making the advertisement is not associated with, or acting on behalf of, the consumer’s current lender. Misleading claims of debt elimination. A creditor may not make any misleading claim in an advertisement that the mortgage product offered will eliminate debt or result in a waiver or forgiveness of a consumer’s existing loan terms with, or obligations to, another creditor. Misleading use of the term “counselor”. A creditor may not use the term “counselor” in an advertisement to refer to a for‐profit mortgage broker or mortgage creditor, its employees, or persons working for the broker or creditor that are involved in offering, originating or selling mortgages. Misleading foreign‐language advertisements. A creditor may not provide information about some trigger terms or required disclosures, such as an initial rate or payment, only in a foreign language in an advertisement, but provide information about other trigger terms or required disclosures, such as information about the fully‐indexed rate, only in English in the same advertisement. S.A.F.E. Act Related Advertising Requirements The federal S.A.F.E. Act was enacted as part of the HERA on July 30, 2008. States generally had one year to enact similar loan originator licensing provisions, and all states since that time have enacted S.A.F.E. Act compliant legislation. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) published a Model SAFE Act for state legislatures to consider and adopt. Most states adopted provisions of the Model Act. In addition to the licensing provisions, the Model Act requires mortgage loan originators to obtain a unique identifier number. The unique identifier of any person originating a residential mortgage loan shall be clearly shown on all residential mortgage loan application forms, solicitations or advertisements, including business cards or websites, and any other documents as established by rule, regulation or order of the applicable state regulator. RMEGs In the Spring of 2009, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators developed reverse mortgage examination guidelines for state regulators conducting reverse mortgage compliance examinations. These guidelines contain items that state regulators could review, including whether the institution uses any form of solicitation that appears to be generated by the government or can be interpreted to be misleading to the consumer. 35
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