Dec. 22, 2006 — If regulations passed Thursday by the V.I. Banking Board get the okay from the governor, companies that provide financial services will now have to pay fees for certain changes, such as opening a new branch.
"The fees depend on how much activity," said Deverita Sturdivant, director of the Banking and Insurance Division at the lieutenant governor's office.
The regulations would apply to banks, mortgage lenders, brokers, small loan companies and others. While states have long charged fees for banking activities, the Virgin Islands had no similar provisions.
"The matter is long overdue," said Lt. Gov. Vargrave Richards in a news release issued Thursday. "Everyone should pay their share."
The fees range from $400 to $10,000, Sturdivant said, but she declined to release the entire schedule of fees until Gov. Charles Turnbull signs off on the regulations. It's hard to know how much money the new fees would generate, she said, but indicated the money will go into the territory's general fund.
Sturdivant said she anticipates that Turnbull will sign the bill. The Banking Board's new fee schedule comes under the umbrella of the Financial Services Act, which became law in 2005, she said.
The board also approved mortgage-broker licenses for Countrywide Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc., Family First Mortgage Corp., Delta Mortgage LLC, Woodbridge Mortgage LLC, Clarion Mortgage Capital Inc. and Coastal Financial Co. LLC.
Additionally, the board approved applications from GMAC Mortgage LLC, Coastal Financial Co. LLC and Family First Mortgage Corp. for mortgage-lender licenses.
In addition to Richards, attending the meeting were Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull and board members Desmond Maynard, Ernesto Gutierrez, Pablo O'Neill and Winston Bennett.
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