For invitations to our events and updates on key legal issues and business concerns:
Please Click HerePosted on March 3, 2017 by Jeremy M. Welch
As we indicated on February 16, 2017 the Federal Reserve is looking at interest rate hikes for 2017. At a speech in Chicago today Chairwoman Janet Yellen said it is likely the Federal Reserve will increase the federal funds rate in March, which was most recently increased in December from 0.50% to 0.75%. The stock […]
Posted on February 23, 2017 by Paul J. Mirr
In February 2015, a federal judge approved a $75 million Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class settlement involving Capital One and three debt collectors.[1] The plaintiffs (debtors) alleged that Capital One and debt collectors called their phones to collect credit card debts using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or pre-recorded voice without […]
Posted on February 16, 2017 by Jeremy M. Welch
Chairwoman Janet Yellen presented her semi-annual report to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on February 15th where she testified that she expects the economy to continue to expand at a moderate pace with inflation gradually rising to two percent. She also stated that the monetary policy remains accommodative and strengthening due […]
Posted on January 24, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Last week, Steven Mnuchin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Treasury Department faced a nearly six-hour grilling by Senate Finance Committee Republicans and Democrats, alike. The former Goldman Sachs executive was pressed on a variety of policy and personal issues including his past connections to a California bank seen by some as an unmerciful […]
Posted on January 19, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
If a lender is fully secured, can it just ignore suspicions of borrower misconduct? The danger is that a lender could lose its collateral under these circumstances and be treated as an unsecured creditor. This is exactly what happened to a lender that failed to inquire further about collateral pledged by a borrower that was […]
Posted on December 28, 2016 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Earlier this month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued final interagency rules which will reduce regulatory compliance costs for over 600 banks and savings associations. Section 10(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) generally requires the […]
Posted on December 15, 2016 by John D. Leary
How prepared are you for a workout or Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filed by your Borrower? Make it your New Year’s Resolution to know the answer to these questions about your Borrower. Do you conduct regular file reviews? Regular loan file reviews can be used as tools to increase certainty as to collateral priority and […]
Posted on December 1, 2016 by Matthew D. Rowe
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has indicated in a recent bulletin that its examiners will gradually incorporate a Cybersecurity Assessment Tool into its examinations of national banks and other institutions under its regulatory purview. At the same time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a Financial Institution Letter informing banks of a Frequently Asked […]
Posted on November 15, 2016 by Christopher M. Seelen
The harvest is plenty, but with corn at $3/bushel, soybeans at $9/bushel, and milk at $15-$16/hundred weight, the profits are few. Did you know that in 2015 and 2016, the Western District of Wisconsin ranks 3rd (out of 94 federal judicial districts) for most Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filings? In 2015, the Western District of […]
Posted on November 2, 2016 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Last month the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) quietly approved a revised and redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) for 2017 to allow for the collection of more information about the ethnicity and race of loan applicants. With some exceptions, Regulation B § 1002.5(b) generally prohibits a creditor from inquiring about the race, color, […]