Archives: Uncategorized

Tax Reform’s Impact on Financing Strategies

By Elyssa S. Kates on April 4, 2018 Posted in Uncategorized

As more of the dust settles after the December 2017 passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97, borrowers and lenders alike are reconsidering their future financing strategies. One of the more significant changes in the tax law is the new limit imposed on interest expense deductions. Prior to the passage of the … Continue Reading

Banks, Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Institutions Face May 11 Deadline To Comply with FinCEN’s Customer Due Diligence Rule

By Andrew W. Reich on April 2, 2018 Posted in Uncategorized

Six years after the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) originally proposed its Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Rule, the deadline for financial institutions to comply draws near. Banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds and futures commission merchants and introducing brokers in commodities (“covered financial institutions”)[1] will have to start complying with the CDD Rule by May 11, 2018.[2] … Continue Reading

Florida Passes Bill to Stop Bankruptcy Debtors From “Having Their Cake and Eating It Too”

By Patrick T. Lewis on March 26, 2018 Posted in Uncategorized

On March 20, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 220 into law. The bill is designed to limit the ability of defendants in foreclosure proceedings to keep contesting the foreclosure after agreeing, in bankruptcy, to surrender the property to their lenders. By way of background, when an individual debtor files for bankruptcy, whether under … Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Determine Whether Internal Whistleblowers Are Protected From Retaliation

By Tracy Cole and M. Elizabeth Howe on June 28, 2017 Posted in Uncategorized

On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on an issue that has long divided the federal courts: whether a whistleblower is entitled to protection from retaliation for blowing the whistle internally even if he or she doesn’t report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Supreme Court granted certiorari of the Ninth … Continue Reading

Florida to Streamline Testing Requirements for Mortgage Loan Originator Licensure

By Douglas A. Vonderhaar and Robert Niemi on August 22, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

On August 16, Florida announced via the National Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Resource Center that it was adopting the Uniform State Test (UST) for mortgage loan originators. With this announcement, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation became the 53rd state agency to no longer require a second state-specific test component for mortgage originators seeking licensure. … Continue Reading

FDIC Rescinds De Novo Period Extension and Releases Supplemental Guidance on Business Plan Content

By Lauren M. Hilsheimer on April 14, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

On April 6, 2016, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rescinded Financial Institution Letter (FIL) 50-2009, titled “Enhanced Supervisory Procedures for Newly Insured FDIC-Supervised Depository Institutions.” In its press release announcing the rescission, the FDIC explained that FIL 50-2009 was issued during the financial crisis when a number of newly insured institutions had either failed … Continue Reading

ICYMI: Financial Services Risk Summit

By Patrick T. Lewis on April 4, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

In March, BakerHostetler and the Ohio Banker’s League held a Financial Services Risk Summit in Cleveland, Ohio, where nearly 140 bankers, mortgage lenders, regulators, compliance officers, and counsel gathered to discuss and learn about the leading compliance, regulatory, and litigation risks facing the financial services industry. The proceedings of the Summit have now been published … Continue Reading

United States Supreme Court Splits 4-4 on Spousal Guarantor ECOA Discrimination Claim

By Melonia A. Bennett and Lauren M. Hilsheimer on March 23, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

On March 22, 2016, in Hawkins v. Community Bank of Raymore, No. 14–520, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Eighth Circuit’s decision that spousal guarantors could not bring a discrimination claim against creditors under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) because the guarantors did not qualify as “applicants” protected by the ECOA. See Hawkins … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler Class Action Webinar – February 10th at Noon (ET)

By BakerHostetler on February 8, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

Please join BakerHostetler’s Class Action Defense and Financial Services Teams on February 10, 2016 from 12:00 to 1:15pm EST for an informative webinar entitled “The New Class Action Risks for 2016 in Consumer Financial Services.” Webinar speakers will discuss: • How CFPB rulemaking may affect the class action landscape. • Are you compromise ready? Tips … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Permits Lien-Voidance for Chapter 20 Debtors

By Catherine Woltering on November 17, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

Bankruptcy practitioners routinely advise secured creditor clients to file protective proofs of claim in bankruptcy proceedings despite those clients’ ability to ignore bankruptcy proceedings and decline filing claims without imperiling their lien due to the protections afforded by state law foreclosure rights.[1] But a recent Ninth Circuit decision is causing attorneys and clients to reconsider … Continue Reading

FTC Launches “Operation Collection Protection” to Target Debt Collection Practices

By Patrick T. Lewis and Marissa Black on November 6, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

On Wednesday, November 4, the Federal Trade Commission announced the largest-ever-coordinated federal-state enforcement initiative targeting allegedly deceptive and abusive debt collection practices. The initiative, consisting of 30 enforcement actions by federal, state, and local authorities, targets debt collectors who utilize harassing phone calls and false threats of litigation, arrest, and wage garnishment. The FTC is … Continue Reading

PHH Fine on Hold, Says D.C. Circuit

By Patrick T. Lewis on August 13, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

On August 3, 2015, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals entered an order staying Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray’s June 4, 2015, order imposing injunctive relief and disgorgement of over $109 million for alleged Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) violations stemming from a mortgage reinsurance program PHH and certain of its affiliates … Continue Reading