On Tuesday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in coordination with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, announced relief plans to discourage multifamily landlords from evicting renters from properties as a result of non-payment. In exchange, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowing multifamily landlords (whose loans are financed by Freddie or Fannie) to defer loan
What Will COVID-19 Relief Look Like and How Will It Affect Financial Services Companies?
Both parties have recognized the need for significant and immediate relief to assist consumers and small businesses affected by COVID-19. On March 18, 2020, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, released plans for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point, the plans are merely a high-level list of
CFPB’s New Policy on Abusive Practices Promises a “Common Sense” Approach to Enforcement
Last week, the CFPB released a long-anticipated policy statement clarifying the agency’s enforcement standard for “abusive acts or practices.” According to an agency press release, the CFPB’s new standard offers a “common-sense” approach that director Kathleen Kraninger says will “provide[] a solid framework to prevent consumer harm while promoting the clarity needed to foster
National Credit Union Administration Encourages Banking Hemp Businesses — With Some Caveats
In December 2018, Congress gave the hemp industry a significant boost by passing the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the cultivation and sale of hemp (i.e., cannabis with a THC content of less than .3%). The 2018 Farm Bill tasked the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with formulating the regulations to govern this burgeoning
Gambling on a DOJ Enforcement Action: State of the Wire Act
Banks and payment processors involved with acceptance or processing of funds relating to gambling or state lottery systems can breathe a sigh of relief—at least for now—based upon a New Hampshire district court judge’s recent interpretation of the Wire Act, which rejected a much broader Department of Justice (DOJ) position that initially sent shockwaves throughout
HOA Super-Priority Lien Law Preempted by Federal Statute
Given the significant role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have in the national housing market, it is unsurprising that both have become embroiled in the Nevada HOA super-priority lien litigation. Since July 2008 – well before the Nevada Supreme Court held that an HOA’s foreclosure on its super-priority lien could extinguish a first deed of
UPDATE: Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing of Bourne Valley Decision Holding Nevada HOA Super-Priority Lien Statute Unconstitutional
The Ninth Circuit denied the plaintiff’s request to rehear Bourne Valley Court Trust v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., in which the Ninth Circuit found NRS 116 to be unconstitutional on its face because the statute violates a first lien holder’s due process rights by impermissibly shifting the burden to mortgage lenders to affirmatively request notice
The Ninth Circuit Weighs In: Nevada HOA Super-Priority Lien Statute is Facially Unconstitutional
The tide may finally be turning in Nevada. Since the Nevada Supreme Court dealt a devastating blow to the whole of the financial services industry in September 2014 by holding that an HOA could foreclose on its super-priority lien and thereby extinguish a first deed of trust, first lien holders have been battling to protect
Nevada Supreme Court Reverses Course on MERS
The Nevada Supreme Court recently reversed – or at least clarified – the impact of MERS in Nevada under the approach set forth in the Restatement (Third) of Property: Mortgages. The Supreme Court had held in 2012 that at the time the note and deed of trust are “split” between the note holder and MERS