Originally proposed by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in 2019 and constituting what the Mortgage Bankers Association has described as “the first major update to Part 419 since its adoption almost 10 years ago,” the new Part 419 of Title 3 of NYDFS regulations covers a range of significant issues impacting
As Federal Shutdown Continues, Financial Regulators Seek to Address Related Impacts
With no immediate end in sight to the current federal shutdown, financial regulators are seeking to minimize the adverse impacts of the shutdown on individuals. In a January 11, 2019, press release, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and
Guess Who’s Getting Directly into the Vendor Management Business?
In a regulatory field already crowded with federal and state regulators mandating the processes financial services companies employ in managing their vendors, the rather short insertion in the Spring 2017 issue of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Supervisory Highlights may initially have sailed largely under the collective industry radar. Recently, however, trade publications have
10 Questions to Ask your Law Firm Vendor Management Program (Part 2)
We previously provided you five questions to determine whether your law firm vendor management program is sufficiently comprehensive. Given the attention drawn to such programs by regulators such as Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), it should be no surprise that these five questions are just a
Foreclosing Residential Lenders Ignore Environmental Issues at Their Own Risk
Several years ago, we assisted a lender who foreclosed on rural residential property and then discovered that vandals had removed metal pipes from the basement of the house. That was bad enough, but the removed piping had connected a home heating oil tank to the house’s main heating system. Without the pipes, heating oil from
10 Questions to Ask your Law Firm Vendor Management Program (Part 1)
Law firms providing mortgage servicer clients default-related legal services are vendors, and financial services companies need to treat them as such. Not only that, law firms often interact directly and continuously with borrowers during the most sensitive periods of the lending relationship: foreclosure, bankruptcy, and eviction. As such, it should come as little surprise that
Third Party Service Providers Remain in the Spotlight
Yesterday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its Semiannual Risk Perspective (the “Semiannual Risk Perspective”). The Semiannual Risk Perspective covers “key issues facing banks, focusing on those that pose threats to the safety and soundness of banks and their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.” While the OCC identifies four main
Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Mandatory Mediation Program Exemption – Holders Score a Washington Victory
The servicer community recently scored an important victory in an opinion issued by the en banc Washington Supreme Court. The decision—Brown v. Wash. State Dep’t. of Commerce, —clarifies the scope of the small lender exemption to the Washington Foreclosure Fairness Act (FFA) mandatory mediation program (codified at RCW 61.24.166). Further supplementing the victory,
Seattle Considers Development of Sharia-Compliant Financing
As the United States continues to become increasingly diverse with residents from different cultural backgrounds and religious faiths, financial institutions are working to find ways to provide both consumer and commercial loan financing arrangements that meet the specific needs of their customer base. This includes the development of financing programs that comply with the Islamic
IRS Releases Guidance on Taxability of Identity Protection Services
As companies and governmental entities increasingly do business and store sensitive information in online or cloud-based environments, the risk of improper disclosure continues to grow. The unprecedented breach of the United States Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) system, in which the personal data of more than 22 million individuals was stolen, was a topic of