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April 3, 2012 – At least for now, financial institutions may make contributions to qualified plans for mortgage loan originators from a pool of profits derived from employee-originated loans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a guidance bulletin issued Monday.

The bureau issued Bulletin 2012-2 in response to several questions it has received about how the compensation rules affect qualified profit sharing, 401(k) and employee stock ownership plans.

The compensation rules, under revisions that went into effect last April, bar employers from paying compensation to loan originators based on any terms or conditions of a mortgage transaction. The rules don't expressly address contributions made to qualified plans, however.

The CFPB's clarification applies specifically to qualified plans: It says contributions can be made to originators' qualified plans from a pool of profits from loans originated by the lender's employees. However, until further rulemaking, it is holding off of additional guidance regarding the rules' impact on profit-sharing arrangements and plans that "are not in the nature" of qualified plans.

The Dodd-Frank Act contains provisions regarding loan originator compensation that the bureau has yet to write into regulation. It plans to proposed a rule in the near future. The law requires that final rules on loan originator compensation be adopted by Jan. 21, 2013, or the law's provisions will take effect on their own.