Alston & Bird Consumer Finance Blog

State Law

New York Governor Provides Temporary Authority for Video Notarizations

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On March 19, New York Governor Mario Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 202.7, “Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency” (the “Order”).

The Order

Notably, effective through April 18, 2020, the Order authorizes the performance of notarial acts through the use of audio-video technology.

Specifically, the Order provides that any notarial act required by New York State law may performed utilizing audio-video technology provided:

  • If the person seeking notary services is not known to the notary, the person presents a valid photo ID to the notary during the video conference (not merely before or after);
  • The video conference allows for direct interaction between the person and the notary (e.g., no prerecorded videos of the person signing);
  • The person affirmatively represents that he or she is physically situated in the state of New York;
  • The person transmits by fax or electronic means a legible copy of the signed document directly to the notary on the same date it was signed;
  • The notary may notarize the transmitted copy of the document and transmit the same back to the person; and
  • The notary may repeat the notarization of the original signed document as of the date of execution provided the notary receives such original signed document together with the electronically notarized copy within 30  days after the day of execution.

Takeaway:

While the Order is limited to notarizing documents for individuals physically located in New York, it is still welcome news.  Hopefully other states that do not currently have remote online notarization laws in effect will begin to allow remote notarizations during the crisis.

New York Financial Regulator Requires COVID-19 Risk Assessment, Operational Planning

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Last week the New York Department of Financial Services (the “Department”) issued letters to all its licensed financial institutions. Based on these letters (available here and here), all Department licensees must assess and plan for the financial risk of COVID-19 and, separately, develop operational plans for managing their response to the virus. The Department requires written responses “as soon as possible” but within 30 days in any case. As a result, impacted businesses should be actively preparing responses to the Department’s detailed request, if they have not already.

Citing the “potentially significant effects an outbreak of COVID-19 could have on your institutions,” the Department “requires that each regulated institution submit a response to DFS describing the institution’s plan of preparedness to manage the risk of disruption to its services and operations.” The Department’s letter regarding such operational preparedness indicates the topics that the Department expects to see reflected within such plans, including:

  • Impact Minimization Measures – Preventative measures to minimize operational impact on customers and business partners;
  • Scaled Strategies to Outbreak Stages – Documented strategies addressing the impact in stages, so the organizations approach may be scaled in accordance with the effects of the stage of an outbreak (with approximate deployment timeframes);
  • Facilities, Resources and Testing Assessments – Assessment of all facilities (including alternative or back-up sites), systems, policies and procedures necessary to continue critical operations and services if members of the staff are unavailable for long periods (perhaps sick) or are working off-site, including an assessment and testing as to whether large scale off-site working arrangements can be activated and maintained to ensure operational continuity;
  • Cyber and Fraud Are Contemplated in the Assessments – Any assessment should include an assessment of potential increased cyber-attacks and fraud;
  • Employee Health Considerations – An assessment of employee protection strategies, critical to sustaining the entire workforce during the outbreak, including employee awareness and steps employees can take to reduce the likelihood of contracting COVID-19;
  • Service Provider Assessments – Of the preparedness of critical outside-party service providers and suppliers (at a minimum, this anticipates contacting these providers and touching base as to their capabilities);
  • Communications Plans– Development of a communication plan to effectively communicate with customers, counterparties and the public and to deliver important news and instructions to employees, along with establishing forums for questions to be asked and addressed;
  • Testing, Governance and Oversight of the Overall COVID-19 Plan

In addition to operational planning, a separate letter issued by the Department requires institutions to additionally provide a plan “regarding managing the potential financial risk arising from COVID-19.” Such financial risk management plans must assess credit exposure to counterparties impacted by COVID-19 (potentially including stress testing or sensitivity analysis of loan portfolios); assess the valuation of assets impacted by COVID-19; assess overall financial impacts on earnings, profits, capital and liquidity; assess the credit risk ratings of the customers, counterparties and business sectors impacted by COVID-19; and assess “reasonable and prudent steps to assist those adversely impacted by COVID-19.”

The Department has issued a separate letter for institutions engaged in virtual currency activity, and requires operational and financial planning for these businesses as well. Finally, the Department issued a fourth letter on March 10 encouraging banks, credit unions and lenders to “consider all reasonable and prudent steps to assist businesses that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19,” including waiving fees, easing credit terms, and offering payment accommodations.

If you have any questions regarding the development of this alert or crafting responses to the NYDFS, please contact Jim Harvey, Nanci Weissgold, Amy Mushahwar, or Michael Young.

The Updated CCPA Regulations: Alston & Bird Detail the 30 Key Business Impacts

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On February 7, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released updated regulations to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).  The updates contain a number of material modifications to the initial CCPA regulations that AG Becerra’s office released in October 2019.

Alston & Bird has compiled a privacy briefing summarizing the 30 key modifications to the Regulations that potentially impact businesses. These include modifications to rules regarding:

  • Notices companies must provide (there are new types!);
  • How companies must intake and process consumer requests to access or delete data;
  • “Do Not Sell My Info” requests;
  • How B2B service providers can use customer data; and
  • Data-mediated financial incentive programs.

To read the full Privacy Briefing on the Updated Regulations, click here.

For further information, contact Kathleen Benway, David Keating, Amy Mushahwar, or Daniel Felz.

New York Proposes Licensing Consumer Debt Collectors

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A&B ABstract:  On January 21, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a measure to license consumer debt collectors as part of his budget bill. If enacted, the measure would require any person acting as a “consumer debt collector” in New York to obtain a license from the New York Banking Superintendent.

Effective October 1, 2020, the measure would require any person acting as a consumer debt collector either directly or indirectly in the State of New York to obtain a license.

Who is a Consumer Debt Collector?

The proposed bill defines a “consumer debt collector” as “any person who engages in a business, a principal purpose of which is the collection of consumer debts or of debt buying, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, consumer debts owed or due to another person.” The definition also includes any creditor that “in the process of collecting its own consumer debts, and uses [sic] any name other than its own, which would reasonably indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt.” The measure would set a one-year license period, with an expiration date of September 1 each year.

Exemptions

Although the definition of “consumer debt collector” is broad, the proposed bill does carve out exemptions for a variety of entities. Notably, loan servicers are exempt from licensing if they are servicing loans or accounts that are not delinquent. Additionally, the measure exempts from licensure a national bank and any subsidiary or affiliate of a national bank if the entity is not primarily engaged in the business of purchasing and collecting upon delinquent debt, other than debt secured by real property. However, unlike many other states (such as Illinois and Washington), New York would not exempt attorneys from licensure.

License Requirements

The proposed bill would require that consumer debt collectors file and maintain a $25,000 surety bond in connection with the application for, and renewal and maintenance of, a consumer debt collector license. Further, expiration of a debt collector’s bond without a replacement being filed with the New York Department of Financial Services would cause automatic expiration of a license.

Practice Restrictions

The proposed bill also includes substantive restrictions on communications with consumer debtors. Significantly, the measure would prohibit a consumer debt collector from contacting a consumer debtor outside the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time for the consumer debtor. This prohibition deviates from a similar provision in the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from contacting consumers outside of the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time for the consumer.

Takeaways

If enacted, the proposed bill would expand the scope of licensing for debt collectors in New York, which are currently licensed only by individual municipalities. Further, in its current form, the measure would require attorneys to be licensed to collect on delinquent debt. We will continue to monitor this measure, which has a high likelihood of passage given its inclusion in Governor Cuomo’s budget bill.

Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions Announces Mandatory Mortgage Servicer Reporting in Response to Recent Earthquakes

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A&B ABstract:

In the wake of the recent earthquakes in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (“OCFI”) released Circular Letter No. CFI-2020-01 (the “Circular Letter”). The Circular Letter imposes weekly and monthly reporting requirements on all Puerto Rico licensed mortgage lenders, mortgage servicers, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage servicers, reverse mortgage servicers, and all financial institutions acting as mortgage servicers (collectively “Mortgage Servicers”) for specific zip codes and “persons affected by the earthquake” in Puerto Rico. Significantly, the Circular Letter does not include a deadline for Mortgage Servicers to submit the first monthly report, but it provides that the first weekly report is due by 4:30 P.M. on February 5, 2020, for the week ending January 31, 2020.

Purpose of the Circular Letter

The Circular Letter requires that all Mortgage Servicers report to OCFI on their on-going activities to assist all persons affected by the earthquakes that took place in southern Puerto Rico commencing on December 28, 2019, and which continue as of the date of the Circular Letter, January 31, 2020. Specifically, the OCFI is interested in the efforts undertaken by Mortgage Servicers to help the affected persons to file insurance claims to recover their property losses caused by the earthquakes.

Covered Persons for Reporting

For purposes of the reporting requirement, “persons affected by the earthquake” include “persons who suffered a physical damage to their residence or buildings (whether or not covered by hazard or homeowner’s insurance and/or other type of property insurance), persons who have suffered economic injury or loss attributable to the earthquakes (including, but not limited to, loss of income from employment or business), and persons who have been harmed or suffered injuries from the earthquakes or circumstances or events directly related to the earthquakes, which persons’ principal residence or place of employment or business is located in [the following 17 zip codes in Puerto Rico]”:

  • Adjuntas, 00601
  • Maricao, 00606
  • Arecibo, 00612
  • Peñuelas, 00624
  • Sabana Grande, 00637
  • Ciales, 00638
  • Utuado, 00641
  • Guánica, 00653
  • Guayanilla, 00656
  • Hatillo, 00659
  • Jayuya, 00664
  • Lajas, 00667
  • Lares, 00669
  • Yauco, 00698
  • Ponce, 00730
  • Ponce, 00731
  • Juana Díaz, 00795

Reporting Requirements

Monthly Reporting Requirement: For all persons affected by the earthquake, Mortgage Servicers must provide a monthly report, for each of the 17 zip-codes listed above, on the OCFI’s “Report of Moratorium Granted Due to Earthquake PR” Form. This form does not appear to be publicly-available on the OCFI’s website. The Circular Letter did not specify when Mortgage Servicers must submit the monthly reports or any associated timing requirement. A conservative reading of the Circular Letter would suggest that the end of the first monthly reporting period would be February 29, 2020, one month after the OCFI released the Circular Letter.

Weekly Reporting Requirement: For all consumer mortgages on properties located in the 17 listed zip-codes, or for persons affected by the earthquake, Mortgage Servicers must provide weekly individual reports by zip-code using the OCFI’s “Mortgage Delinquency Report” Form for the entirety of their portfolio. This form also does not appear to be publicly-available on the OCFI’s website. The Circular Letter states that the first weekly report is due to the OCFI by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, and all subsequent weekly reports must be submitted the Wednesday after the proceeding week, by 4:30 p.m. Each weekly report must cover all activity Monday-Friday from the previous week.

The Circular Letter specifies that Mortgage Servicers are required to transmit the weekly and monthly reports to the OCFI in electronic form using the corresponding excel forms in the appendix of the Circular Letter. However, the Circular Letter does not provide an email or portal where licensed Mortgage Servicers are supposed to submit their reports.

Takeaways:

Licensed Mortgage Servicers in Puerto Rico are now required to submit a monthly report for mortgage servicing activity taken to help borrowers affected by the recent earthquakes and are required to submit weekly reports for all consumer mortgages located in the 17 zip-codes and for all persons affected by the earthquake. The first weekly report, which shall cover activities undertaken in the week commencing on January 27, 2020, is due tomorrow, February 5, 2019, in electronic format to the OCFI by 4:30 P.M. EST. Going forward, weekly reports are due every Wednesday at 4:30P.M. EST, which must include any relevant activity from the previous week.

Mortgage Servicers that fail to provide their reports to the OCFI in a timely manner may be subject to penalties: the OCFI may impose fines of up to $10,000 for each violation of any rules and regulations under title 7 chapter 143 of the Laws of Puerto Rico, and the OCFI may also impose fines of up to $5,000 for each day that a Mortgage Servicer fails to comply with any orders issued by the Commissioner.