Lending Updates

Farm Lending Pitfalls For Urban Lawyers

03/17/21

OK, so you’re a sophisticated lending attorney in Metropolis who is comfortable with everything from aircraft financing to syndicated loans secured by casinos in Macau. Yet you feel a twinge of uncertainty when a business loan is to be secured by wine inventory made from grapes grown in both California and Washington.

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It’s Time to (Carefully) Secure that Guaranty

03/08/21

The 2021 increase to California’s homestead exemption to up to $600,000 stands to change the legal and economic relationship of guarantors with their lenders and vendors who make loans or sell goods or services on credit. Before examining this important change in California’s homestead exemption and its effect on guaranties, some perspective is needed on guaranties themselves.

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California Legislature Passes Mini-CFPB Bill; If You Liked The Department Of Business Oversight, Get Ready For The Department Of Financial Protection And Innovation

09/15/20

On August 31, both houses of the California legislature passed and sent to Governor Newsom for signature the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (the CCFPL).  Effective on January 1, 2021 if Governor Newsom signs the bill (which he is expected to do), the Department of Business Oversight will be replaced by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).  Much of the law comes directly from Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act, with a particular focus on consumer protection.  While the DBO has authority to enforce specific laws, the focus of the DFPI will be on the kinds of

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CFPB Issues Factsheet On TRID Title Insurance Disclosures And Updates TRID FAQ

07/01/20

On June 9 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a Factsheet on how to disclose title insurance on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, including when a negative owner’s title insurance cost disclosure is appropriate, and updated the TRID FAQs to include guidance on the total of payments disclosure, using the optional signature line on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, and the requirement to include seller information on the consumer’s disclosures if providing separate Closing Disclosures.  This blog discusses the Factsheet, and sets forth the four questions

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CFPB Issues Proposed Amendment to Regulation Z and Guidance to Deal with LIBOR Transition

06/10/20

On June 4 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued proposals to address issues arising from the required transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scheduled for the end of 2021.  LIBOR has been widely used as a benchmark in consumer financial products such as adjustable rate mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), student loans and credit cards.  The CFPB released a more than 200 page rulemaking proposal calling for changes to its truth-in-lending regulations relating to the LIBOR transition.  The CFPB also simultaneously issued guidance in t

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Force Majeure Clauses and COVID-19 – Can Force Majeure Clauses Excuse Performance Under New York or Delaware Law in a Pandemic?

03/13/20

With the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, businesses are likely to continue to feel its effects.  When businesses are unable to perform their contractual obligations as a result of COVID-19, force majeure clauses may become important.

Coronavirus; force majeure

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Start Spreadin’ the News: California Court Says No to New York, New York; Rejects Forum Selection Clause

11/08/19

Sinatra may have found success in the city that never sleeps, but a California court has just made it more difficult for any party doing business with a California resident to do the same. At least, when it comes to resolving disputes without a jury in a New York courtroom, or in the courtroom of any other jurisdiction that enforces pre-dispute jury trial waivers. This case will be of major interest to commercial lenders, and other businesses, who prefer to use New York as their jurisdiction of choice for governing law and adjudicating disputes.

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Increase in Regulatory Expense for Debtor-In-Possession Revolving Credit Facilities

08/19/19

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that payments made by a debtor’s customers to its lender converting a pre-petition loan to a post-petition loan constituted disbursements for the purposes of calculating the statutory fees payable pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1930(a)(6). In re Cranberry Growers Coop., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 21121 (7th Cir. July 17, 2019). This decision, coupled with the increase in the quarterly fees for the U.S.

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DOJ Opinion Leaves Industry Hanging: If UIGEA Exclusions Don’t Modify the Wire Act What Does That Mean for Intrastate Gambling Transactions?

01/18/19

The recently released Department of Justice (“DOJ”) opinion (“DOJ Opinion”) concluding that the Wire Act prohibits both sports and non-sports related Internet betting and wagering, leaves the industry with the burning question of “what about intrastate Internet gambling?”  On its face, the Wire Act prohibits using a wire communication facility for the t

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Loan Syndication and EU Competition Law

12/18/18

The intricate syndicated loan market has recently triggered attention from competition authorities internationally. Recently, the Spanish competition authority fined €91 million a syndicate of four Spanish banks. The Directorate General for Competition (DG COMP) of the European Commission launched a study on the topic in April 2017 (COMP/2017/008 – EU loan syndication and its impact on competition in credit markets).

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