The director of the Idaho’s Department of Finance said this week that Idaho’s financial institutions are a “beacon of good news,” which is in stark contrast to the nation’s mortgage crisis. The state’s mortgage delinquencies are well within the range established over the last 20 years. In fact, Idaho’s annual delinquency figure was lower than that for 10 of the past 20 years (3.86% of total mortgages, compared with the nationwide number of 6.31%). The percentage of all Idaho mortgage loans reported as foreclosure-started for 2007, at 1.47%, was also within the range of the past 20 years, and is nearly half the 2.84% reported nationwide.

Contrary to the increasing number of news stories about large money center financial institutions (e.g. Bear Stearns) experiencing significant losses connected to mortgage defaults, Idaho’s banks are showing continued strength, with key performance indicators outpacing nationwide numbers. For example, in 2007, Idaho banks out-performed banks nationwide in loan and asset growth rates, and reported significantly smaller percentages for non-current loans and net charge-offs.

Maybe its time the rest of the nation took at how the 43rd state is handling its business. In January, Idaho became only one of seven states requiring that all new applications for mortgage licensure be processed through the new Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) and that existing licensees transition their current license information onto the NMLS by September 1 of this year. The NMLS is streamlining the licensing process for both regulatory agencies and the mortgage industry by providing a centralized and standardized system for mortgage licensing. NMLS is owned and operated by the State Regulatory Registry LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). NMLS is a joint project of CSBS and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) begun several years ago with the goals of improving supervision, streamlining compliance and enhancing consumer protection.