Washington state regulator hits West Capital Lending with $75K penalty

Regulators in Washington state have fined West Capital Lending Inc. (WCL) $75,000 after alleging the mortgage lender committed multiple violations of the state’s Consumer Loan Act, including allowing unlicensed individuals to conduct mortgage-related activities and failing to meet certain disclosure and reporting requirements.

Per Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) records, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions entered a consent order with WCL on July 8, resolving allegations outlined in a September 2025 statement of charges. Under the agreement, WCL must also pay a $3,000 investigation fee and follow an order to “cease and desist” from violating the act and related rules.

WCL did not admit to the allegations nor any wrongdoing outlined in the settlement. The company did not respond to HousingWire‘s request for comment at the time of publication.

Per the filing, WCL waived “its right to a hearing and any and all administrative and judicial review of the issues raised in this matter” while withdrawing its appeal to the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings.

The allegations stemmed from a statewide examination of WCL’s business practices between May 9, 2022, and March 31, 2024. Per the statement of charges, at least one person working on behalf of WCL assisted a borrower with a residential mortgage application for a Washington property without being a licensed mortgage originator in the state.

Regulators also claimed that WCL accepted at least one mortgage application for a Washington property before securing its state consumer loan license, and that at least six managers supervising Washington-licensed mortgage loan officers were not licensed by the state. In addition, the regulators said WCL “failed to prepare and maintain” at least 34 required supervisory plans.

Initially sought penalties pared back

Other allegations involved the company’s surety bond coverage and regulatory reporting. The department claimed that WCL failed to maintain required surety bond coverage in 2023 and 2024 and did not submit timely annual reports for 2022 and 2023. WCL also allegedly failed to submit a timely financial condition report for 2022 and filed inaccurate annual reports for both years.

The statement of charges also alleged that WCL failed to provide timely rate-lock agreements to at least four borrowers; did not provide a complete and accurate closing disclosure to at least one borrower; and failed to provide requested information during the state examination.

Regulators also cited advertising and website disclosures, alleging that WCL used phrases including “lowest interest rates and closing costs possible” and “finding you the best deal” in its advertising. At least three webpages operated by the company or its employees reportedly did not include the company’s required license number, the filing noted.

Additional allegations included failing to comply with loan tolerance requirements involving an appraisal fee; compensating at least one LO based on the company’s profit from that originator’s loans; and providing incomplete or inaccurate privacy policies to at least five borrowers.

Additionally, the department said that WCL did not ensure employees completed ongoing training under its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering program, nor did it conduct independent testing of the program.

The original statement of charges sought to revoke WCL’s consumer loan license and prohibit the company from participating in the affairs of a licensed consumer loan company for five years, but these provisions were not in the final consent order.

The department said its investigation into alleged violations by WCL was ongoing at the time of the September 2025 statement of charges. The regulator did not respond to HousingWire’s request for comment the time of publication.

Actions in other states

The order is not WCL’s first regulatory action. In a 2023 settlement, WCL was accused of nearly the same allegations in Hawaii, Oregon and Idaho.

The states alleged that WCL engaged in unlicensed mortgage activity in 2021 and 2022 by allowing unlicensed LOs to perform origination activities, including pulling consumer credit reports for lending decisions, and by paying commissions to unlicensed individuals or entities controlled by LOs.

As a result, the states imposed administrative penalties totaling more than $464,000 against WCL.

In June 2025, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation entered a final order regarding an enforcement action. Regulators alleged that WCL did not update their NMLS records on time to disclose all bank accounts used during the period that regulators were reviewing. Per the final order filing, WCL was ordered to pay the office $750.