Become a SONYMA Participating Lender

SONYMA welcomes lending institutions to become Participating Lenders in SONYMA programs. 

In order to be approved and continue as a SONYMA participating lender, your corporation:

• Must be a corporation or organization located in New York State and must be one of the following: (i) bank or trust company, savings bank, savings and loan association, industrial bank, national banking association, federal savings and loan association, federal savings bank; (ii) a credit union or federal credit union; or (iii) a New York State licensed mortgage banker approved as a mortgage lender by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.


• Must have (or create) a master policy with SONYMA's Mortgage Pool Insurance Underwriter.


• Can not also be a broker with another SONYMA participating lender.


• Must originate mortgages as a primary component of the company's overall business operations.


• Must meet SONYMA's fidelity insurance and errors and omissions coverage requirements.


• Pay a one- time Participation Deposit


• At the time of application to SONYMA, a new Lender will be required to submit a fully executed application, appropriate supporting documentation, and a participation deposit of $5000.00. The purpose of this deposit is to ensure a minimum level of annual Lender participation in the SONYMA program.


• To maintain an active status as a SONYMA Participating Lender, SONYMA must purchase a minimum of five (5) first mortgage loans from the Lender before the end of the following full calendar year. In the first full calendar year, if this minimum purchase requirement has been met, the initial $5000 deposit will be returned to the Lender. Each year thereafter, in order to remain in active status, a Lender must at least meet this annual five-loan minimum purchase requirement.


• If Lenders fail to meet the minimum purchase requirement, in the current or future years, they will be placed in a dormant status, will forfeit any participation deposit, and will need to provide a recertification document and new participation deposit for reinstatement to the program.


• As a condition of final approval, and prior to making reservations for individual loan applications as a SONYMA participating lender, must participate in a SONYMA Technical Assistance Meeting for training of the Agency's operational procedures.


• Must annually certify that your company is in compliance with all requirements of SONYMA's Seller's Guide and Mortgage Purchase Agreement.


• Must agree and have the capability to originate loans through a proprietary web-based automated system (the "SONYMA Express®") to help lenders review and make decisions on the IRS compliance and credit underwriting components of SONYMA loans. SONYMA Express® supports the following credit providers; CBC, CIS, CREDCO, Credit Plus, Equifax, Kroll Factual Data & UCS.
  
  NOTE: If the credit provider your company uses does not appear on the above list, SONYMA may be able to add the provider. Contact SONYMA for further instructions on how to proceed.


• Must have Data Verify as a single source vendor for tax return verifications ( TRV’s) prior to Seller approval.
   
  • Data Verify website: https://www.dataverify.com/content/
  • Phone: (866) 895-3282
  • Email: [email protected]
     
• Must annually meet SONYMA's financial requirements. Currently, SONYMA requires the lender to have a minimum net worth to assets of at least five (5) percent.

Click on Application Instructions to get detailed information on completing the application. Complete and submit the following original documentation to SONYMA:

• Lender Application Form (click here to download this form);
   
• Participation Application (click here to download this form);
   
• Attach a copy of the Applicant's last two years' certified financial statements (including Notes) and any interim statements. (For banks, also attach the last three years' annual FDIC, FHLBB, OTS or FFIEC Call Reports, along with the latest interim Call Reports).
  
  Note: The "as of" date of the last two years' Call Reports should match the year-end date of the financial statements.
   
• Two fully executed Mortgage Purchase Agreements (click here to download this form);
   
• Two fully executed Mortgage Servicing Agreements, if your company will also be servicing SONYMA loans (click here to download this form) (Learn more about servicing qualifications by clicking here);
   
• Counsel's Opinion;
   
• Master Loan Funding Certification (Form 248) (click here to download this form) If this certification is signed by the Lender, it will not be necessary to submit a Loan Funding Certification with each post-closing loan file.
• Certificate as to Unsecured Credit Agreement (This is only applicable if lender intends to use an unsecured line of credit to fund loans). This must be printed on the Creditor's letterhead, executed by the Creditor Bank, and acknowledged by your institution (click here to download this form);
   
• If lender intends to use a warehousing entity to fund its loans prior to SONYMA purchase, submit a copy of Lender's executed warehousing agreement, along with evidence that the agreement is currently in effect;
   
• If lender is a licensed mortgage banker, submit evidence that lender is an approved seller/servicer of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
   
• SONYMA Express®" Set up Request Form
• Lender Wire Instruction Guidelines

 SONYMA's Seller's Guide

 SONYMA's main program page

For additional information or questions, please e-mail us at: [email protected]

Qualifications:

• Must be a SONYMA participating lender (see above sections for more information);
• Must be a corporation or organization located in New York State and must be one of the following: (i) bank or trust company, savings bank, savings and loan association, or national banking institution; or (ii) a New York State licensed mortgage banker approved as a mortgage lender by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac;
• Must have its deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
• Must annually meet SONYMA's financial requirements. Currently, SONYMA requires the Servicer to have a minimum net worth to assets ratio of at least 5%;
• Must service mortgage loans as a normal course of business and have a satisfactory servicing record as determined by SONYMA;
• Must have the ability to report monthly loan activity via electronic transfer;
• Must have the ability to report delinquency information and foreclosure statuses electronically;
• Must have the ability to track individual loans that were originated under special SONYMA loan programs;
• Must execute a Mortgage Servicing Agreement (click here to download this form).

Servicer Guide

Click here to download SONYMA's Servicer's Guide.

Contact

For additional information, please e-mail us at: [email protected].