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Complications with Customer Communications in Context of Credit Conveyances (a/k/a Problems with Notices to Borrowers in Default or Bankruptcy When Loans or Servicing are Transferred)By Cynthia A. Shafer and Brenda K. Bowers If your bank is in the process of a merger or has agreed to buy or sell a portfolio of mortgage loans, notices must be provided to the borrowers before and after the transaction closes. Care must be taken to determine the notices required and how they are worded to avoid violating potentially conflicting laws. Read more. EEOC Issues Expansive Enforcement Guidance on RetaliationBy Nelson D. Cary, Michael C. Griffaton and J. Alexander Bluebond According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation is now the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination. This explains the rationale behind the EEOC’s August 2016 Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues, the EEOC’s first comprehensive review of retaliation since 1998. The Guidance represents "the Commission’s well-considered guidance on its interpretation of the laws it enforces" (and, as the EEOC admits, regardless of whether courts agree with the EEOC). Read more. Standing in Consumer Finance Cases After SpokeoThe United States Supreme Court’s May 16, 2016 decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540, may no longer be news, but how lower courts are struggling to understand and apply that decision is. Unfortunately for financial institutions, federal courts are far from uniform in their interpretations of the majority decision, and it is likely that those institutions will continue to be plagued by consumer claims brought by plaintiffs who have suffered no obvious injury yet are seeking to capitalize on statutory damages made available by Congress. The heart of the problem for federal courts lies in the Supreme Court’s pronouncement that an injury can be "concrete" yet "intangible," coupled with its reticence to provide any clear guidance on how to recognize such intangible but still concrete harms. Read more. Foreign Correspondent Banking - Regulators Encourage U.S. Banks to Keep Doing It, But Their Regulations Have Been DiscouragingOnce again, banks seem to be caught between a regulatory rock and a hard place. After years of additional regulations and civil money penalties hindering the foreign correspondent banking industry, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and various federal banking agencies (the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) are encouraging banks to continue offering foreign correspondent accounts. Read more. About the Vorys Banking GroupWith nearly 20 lawyers dedicated to our banking practice, we have hundreds of years of combined practical, hands-on experience in the banking industry. We have been named a "Top Lead Legal Advisor" by American Banker magazine and a Go-To Law Firm® in banking and finance, securities and corporate transactions by Fortune 500 general counsel. Our group has extensive experience with all aspects of bank corporate and regulatory legal matters, and our attorneys are in constant contact with senior representatives of state and federal banking agencies concerning a diverse variety of significant client matters. We have been intimately involved in the comprehensive rewrite of Ohio banking laws, currently underway with the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions. In fact, since the inception of this project, one of our lawyers, along with representatives from the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions and the Ohio Bankers League, has been a member of the four-person team tasked with handling the rewrite. We represent public and non-public institutions, from community banks and thrifts to large, multinational financial institutions throughout the United States including clients in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. We assist our clients with bank, thrift, holding company and non-bank affiliate formations; securities law matters; board governance and education; regulatory enforcement actions involving state and federal agencies; mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; branch acquisitions and divestitures; regulatory compliance; capitalization, recapitalization and private equity as well as debt transactions; litigation; employment law matters; executive compensation and benefit plans; tax matters; and the negotiation of all types of contracts. We also represent financial institutions and other institutional lenders, as well as borrowers, in all types of complex commercial and real estate financings, bankruptcies and restructurings. If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, please contact your Vorys attorney. We hope you enjoy the read. To learn more, visit vorysfinancialservices.com |
ContactsDavid M. Aldous  Aaron S. Berke Brenda K. Bowers Lauren A. Brown Robin K. Capozzi Nelson D. Cary Marcel C. Duhamel Elizabeth Turrell Farrar Michael C. Griffaton Jason L. Hodges Michael D. Martz Kimberly J. Schaefer Shane D. Sclichter Cynthia A. Shafer Jeffery E. Smith J. Bret Treier Anthony D. Weis Frank C. Zonars |
This alert is for general information purposes and should not be regarded as legal advice. As always, please let us know if you want more information or have questions about how these developments apply to your situation. |