During the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis, the United States Treasury (the “Treasury”) established several programs in an attempt to stabilize the economy. One of these programs was the Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”) Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”). The purpose of the CPP was to provide immediate and temporary funding […]
Banking Update
Accidental Filing of UCC Termination Statements – Can the Mistake be Fixed?
When a loan is paid off, one of the next steps may be for the lender to release its security interests in the borrower’s collateral. This is most often done by using a form UCC-3. By checking the box marked “Termination” the secured party states that the specified financing statement […]
Cautionary Tale: Community Bank Fined $700,000 for ECOA Violations
Last month, the Department of Justice entered into a consent order with a $338 million community bank in Texas for alleged violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, highlighting the continued regulatory focus on fair lending and the importance of uniform policies and training in this area. The DOJ’s complaint […]
Supreme Court: FDCPA Allows Award of Costs to Prevailing Creditor Defendants
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) does not preclude a court from awarding costs to a lender that prevails against allegations that it violated the FDCPA. A lower court decision held that a defendant who is found to not have violated […]
Dealing with Estates: Using Small-Estate Affidavits in Banking
Financial institutions are often presented with the dilemma of what to do with bank accounts after the death of the primary account holder. Of course, accounts held jointly or with a “payable-on-death” (POD) designation are generally easy to handle. At the death of the primary account holder, the co-owner or […]