Servicing Practices Highlighted Under Illinois
“High Risk Home Loan Act”
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law the Illinois High Risk Home Loan Act (the Act) (S.B. 1784) on August 20, 2003. The Act will become effective on January 1, 2004, and upon its effectiveness will preempt the high risk home loan regulations that the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate and Illinois Department of Financial Institutions issued in 2001 (the 2001 regulations). While the Act also expressly supercedes any other Illinois state financial regulation laws except the Illinois Interest Act (815 Ill. Comp. Stat. 205/0.01 et seq.), it does not expressly address its impact on municipal ordinances that have or may be passed, such as the anti-predatory lending ordinances enacted by the City of Chicago and by Cook County.
The Act adopts the annual percentage rate (APR) and points and fees thresholds reflected in the 2001 regulations. Specifically, the APR thresholds in the Act are an APR that exceeds by more than 6 percentage points (for a first-lien mortgage) or 8 percentage points (for a junior mortgage) the yield on comparable U.S. Treasury securities. The points and fees threshold in the Act is 5% of the total loan amount or $800 (to be adjusted annually according to the Consumer Price Index). The Act goes further than the 2001 regulations, though, in its applicability to persons or entities that transfer, deal in, or offer high risk home loans, in addition to those entities that make such loans. The Act also expressly imposes liability upon purchasers, assignees, and holders of high risk home loans, although it appears such assignee liability is limited to individual actions only.
In addition, the Act addresses certain practices that arise during the servicing of high risk home loans, such as restricting the collection of late payment fees on such loans, and requiring each payment to be posted on the same business day it was received. The Act also requires servicers to advise delinquent borrowers under high risk home loans of the availability of counseling prior to initiating judicial foreclosure proceedings and to defer foreclosure during that notice period, and it restricts fees that may be imposed upon a borrower who reinstates.
With regard to remedies and damages under the Act, the Act provides that any term of an agreement for a high risk home loan that violates the Act is unenforceable. The Act also provides for damages for knowing violations of the Act, by reference to the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. However, the Act does not appear to provide for damages for other types of violations (i.e., non-knowing violations), and it does not expressly address class actions.
WHO MUST COMPLY WITH THE HIGH RISK HOME LOAN ACT
The Act generally applies to all lenders, which the Act defines as any natural or artificial person, including a creditor and a broker, who transfers, deals in, offers, or makes a high risk home loan. While the term lender expressly excludes purchasers, assignees, and subsequent holders of high risk home loans, the Act nonetheless contains assignee liability for affirmative and defensive claims, subject to certain limitations (described below).
SEPTEMBER 2003
The Act also contains reporting and other provisions applicable to servicers of residential mortgage loans. A servicer broadly includes any state-chartered depository institution and any licensee under the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987, the Consumer Installment Loan Act, or the Sales Finance Agency Act that is responsible for the collection or remittance for, or has the right or obligation to collect or remit for, any lender, note owner, or note holder or for a licensees own account, of payments, interest, principal, and trust items (such as hazard insurance and taxes) in accordance with the terms of the residential mortgage loan, including loan payment follow-up, delinquency loan follow-up, loan analysis, and any notifications to the borrower that are necessary to enable the borrower to keep the loan current and in good standing. Note that this definition, and hence the reporting and other obligations, applies broadly to all servicers of residential mortgage loans, and is not limited to servicers of high risk home loans.
DEFINITION OF AND THRESHOLDS FOR “HIGH RISK HOME LOANS”
Similar to the 2001 regulations, a high risk home loan is a home equity loan that exceeds either the APR thresholds or the points and fees threshold. A home equity loan is any loan secured by the borrowers primary residence where the proceeds are not used as purchase money for the residence. A high risk home loan does not include a loan made primarily for a business purpose unrelated to the residential real property securing the loan, or an open-end credit plan subject to 12 C.F.R. Part 226 (2000 ed.; no subsequent amendments or editions are included). High risk home loans are also limited to applicable loans made to natural persons.
APR Thresholds. As mentioned above, a loan that meets the above-described criteria is a high risk home loan
if it exceeds either the Acts APR thresholds or the points and fees threshold. A loan exceeds the APR thresholds if, at the time of origination, the APR exceeds by more than 6 percentage points (in the case of a first-lien mortgage) or by more than 8 percentage points (for a junior mortgage) the yield on U.S. Treasury securities having comparable periods of maturity to the loan maturity as of the 15th day of the month immediately preceding
the month in which the application for the loan is received by the lender.
Points and Fees Threshold. A loan exceeds the points and fees threshold if the total points and fees payable by
the consumer at or before closing will exceed the greater of 5% of the total loan amount or $800. The $800 figure will be adjusted annually on January 1 by the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items published by the United States Department of Labor. In calculating the points and fees, the Act requires the inclusion of all items required to be disclosed as points and fees under Section 32 of Regulation Z under the federal Home Ownership Equity Protection Act (12 C.F.R. § 226.32) (2000 ed.) (HOEPA), as well as the premium of any single premium credit life, credit disability, credit unemployment, or any other life or health insurance that is financed directly or indirectly into the loan, and compensation paid directly or indirectly to a mortgage broker, including a broker that originates a loan in its own name in a table-funded transaction, not otherwise included in 12 C.F.R. § 226.4.
PROHIBITED PRACTICES UNDER THE HIGH RISK HOME LOAN ACT
With regard to high risk home loans, the following acts and/or practices are prohibited or restricted. Many of these provisions were also included in the 2001 regulations; the following paragraphs indicate significant changes (other than those already mentioned) from those regulations. While some of the following prohibitions apply expressly to lenders that make high risk home loans, several of the prohibitions apply expressly to lenders that transfer, deal in, offer, or make such loans, as indicated below.
Ability to Repay. The Act prohibits all creditors and brokers (which terms are not defined in the Act) from
obligation based upon a consideration of his or her current and expected income, current obligations, employment status, and other financial resources, other than the borrowers equity in the dwelling that secures the loan. The Act creates a presumption that a borrower can repay the loan if, at the time of consummation, or at the time of the first rate adjustment (for lower introductory interest rates, or teaser rates), the borrowers scheduled monthly payments on the loan (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and assessments), combined with the scheduled payments for all other disclosed debts, do not exceed 50% of the borrowers monthly gross income.
Fraudulent or Deceptive Practices. The Act prohibits lenders from employing fraudulent or deceptive acts or
practices in the making of high risk home loans, including deceptive marketing and sales efforts.
Prepayment Penalty Restrictions. The prepayment penalty provisions under the Act apply only to high risk
home loans that are not subject to HOEPA. (Note: HOEPAs APR thresholds are 8 points for first-lien loans, and 10 points for subordinate-lien loans. HOEPAs points-and-fees threshold is the greater of 8% or $499 (for 2004).) This limitation to high risk home loans not subject to HOEPA is new, in that it was not included in the 2001 regulations.
A lender is prohibited from making such loans that include a prepayment penalty: (i) after the expiration of the 36-month period following the date the loan was made; or (ii) that is more than 3% of the total loan amount if the prepayment is made within the first 12-month period following the date the loan was made, or more than 2% of the total loan amount if the prepayment is made within the second 12-month period, or more than 1% of the total loan amount if the prepayment is made within the third 12-month period. Other than the restriction to loans not covered by HOEPA, this restriction on prepayment penalties mirrors that in the 2001 regulations.
Prepaid Insurance Products and Warranties. The Act prohibits lenders from transferring, dealing in, offering,
or making a high risk home loan that finances a single premium credit life, credit disability, credit unemployment, or any other life or health insurance, directly or indirectly. Insurance calculated and paid on a monthly basis is not considered to be financed by the lender.
Restrictions on Refinancing; Tangible Net Benefit. The Act prohibits lenders from refinancing any high
risk home loan if such refinancing charges additional points and fees within a 12-month period after the original loan agreement was signed, unless the refinancing results in a tangible net benefit to the borrower. The Act does not define the phrase tangible net benefit. (The 2001 regulations required a financial benefit to the borrower.)
Financing Certain Points and Fees. The Act prohibits a lender from transferring, dealing in, offering, or
making a high risk home loan that finances points and fees in excess of 6% of the total loan amount.
Payments to Contractors. The Act prohibits lenders from paying any proceeds of a high risk home loan
directly to a contractor under a home improvement contract, other than: (1) by instrument payable to the borrower or jointly to the borrower and contractor; or (2) at the borrowers election, by a third-party escrow agent in accordance with the terms established in a written agreement signed by the borrower, lender, and contractor prior to the date of payment.
Negative Amortization. The Act prohibits lenders from transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high risk
home loan, other than a loan secured by a reverse mortgage, with terms under which the outstanding balance will increase at any time over the course of the loan due to fact that regular periodic payments do not cover the full amount of the interest due, unless such negative amortization is the consequence of a temporary forbearance sought by the borrower.
Negative Equity. The Act prohibits lenders from transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high risk home
loan that exceeds the value of the property securing the loan. (The 2001 regulations provided that high risk home loans could not exceed the value of the property plus reasonable closing costs of up to 5% of the total loan amount.)
Late Payment Fee Restrictions. The Act contains a provision, not found in the 2001 regulations, that prohibits
a lender from transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high risk home loan that provides for a late payment fee, except under the following circumstances: (1) a late payment fee may not exceed 5% of the amount of the past due payment; (2) a late payment fee may only be assessed for a payment past due for 15 days or more; (3) a late payment fee must not be imposed more than once with respect to a single late payment; (4) a lender must reimburse any late payment fee collected if the borrower presents proof of timely payment; and (5) a lender must treat each payment as posted on the same business day as it was received by the lender, servicer, or lenders agent or at the address provided to the borrower by the lender, servicer, or lenders agent for making payments.
Payment Compounding. The Act prohibits lenders from transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high
risk home loan that includes terms under which more than two periodic payments required under the loan are consolidated and paid in advance from the loan proceeds provided to the borrower. This provision did not appear in the 2001 regulations.
Call Provision. The Act prohibits lenders from transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high risk home
loan that contains a provision permitting the lender, in its sole discretion, to accelerate the indebtedness, although acceleration is expressly not prohibited if such an action is taken in good faith due to a borrowers failure to abide by the material terms of the loan.
Mortgage Awareness Program; Less Favorable Terms. The Act prohibits lenders from offering less favorable
loan terms to a borrower due to a borrowers participation in the Mortgage Awareness Program. The Mortgage Awareness Program is a counseling and educational program provided by the Department of Banks and Real Estate and the Director of Financial Institutions. This prohibition against less favorable terms is not expressly limited to high risk home loans, although the lenders obligation to inform borrowers about the program (discussed below) is limited to such loans.
Mandatory Arbitration. The Act provides that a mandatory arbitration provision in a high risk home loan that
is oppressive, unfair, unconscionable, or substantially in derogation of the borrowers rights is void, without regard to whether the borrower is acting individually or on behalf of others similarly situated. The Act does not provide any express guidance regarding the types of provisions that will be considered oppressive, unfair, unconscionable, or substantially in derogation of the borrowers rights. This provision was not included in the 2001 regulations.
Subterfuge. The Act prohibits lenders from dividing a loan transaction into separate parts or performing any
other subterfuge with the intent to avoid the application or provisions of the Act.
Provisions Not Included in Act; Balloon Payments. We note that while the 2001 regulations also contained
restrictions on balloon payments on high risk home loans, the Act does not contain such restrictions.
OBLIGATIONS IMPOSED BY THE HIGH RISK HOME LOAN ACT
Verification of Ability to Repay. The Act requires lenders to verify the borrowers ability to repay a high risk
home loan. Such verification includes, at a minimum, requiring the borrower to prepare and submit a personal income and expense statement as prescribed by state regulators. For this purpose, the Act provides that state
Form 85 (10/92)) and Transmittal Summary (Fannie Mae Form 1077 (3/97) and Freddie Mac Form 1008 (3/97)). Lenders must also verify the borrowers income through tax returns, pay stubs, accounting statements, or other prudent means, and obtain the borrowers credit report.
Good Faith. The Act requires lenders to act in good faith in all relations with borrowers, including but not
limited to transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high risk home loan.
Disclosure Requirement. The Act prohibits lenders from transferring, dealing in, offering, or making a high
risk home loan unless the lender gives the following notice or a substantially similar notice to the borrower, in writing, acknowledged in writing and signed by the borrower not later than three business days prior to consummation (as required under 12 C.F.R. § 226.31(c)):
NOTICE TO BORROWER
YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO OBTAIN A LOAN AT A LOWER COST. YOU SHOULD SHOP AROUND AND COMPARE LOAN RATES AND FEES. LOAN RATES AND CLOSING COSTS AND FEES VARY BASED ON MANY FACTORS, INCLUDING YOUR PARTICULAR CREDIT AND FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, YOUR EMPLOYMENT HISTORY, THE LOAN-TO-VALUE REQUESTED, AND THE TYPE OF PROPERTY THAT WILL SECURE YOUR LOAN. THE LOAN RATE AND FEES COULD ALSO VARY BASED ON WHICH LENDER OR BROKER YOU SELECT. IF YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS LOAN, THE LENDER WILL HAVE A MORTGAGE LIEN ON YOUR HOME. YOU COULD LOSE YOUR HOME AND ANY MONEY YOU PUT INTO IT IF YOU DO NOT MEET YOUR PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE LOAN. YOU SHOULD CONSULT AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW AND AN APPROVED CREDIT COUNSELOR OR OTHER EXPERIENCED FINANCIAL ADVISOR REGARDING THE RATE, FEES, AND PROVISIONS OF THIS LOAN BEFORE YOU PROCEED. A LIST OF APPROVED CREDIT COUNSELORS IS AVAILABLE BY CONTACTING EITHER THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS OR THE ILLINOIS OFFICE OF BANKS AND REAL ESTATE. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THIS LOAN AGREEMENT MERELY BECAUSE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS DISCLOSURE OR HAVE SIGNED A LOAN APPLICATION. ALSO, YOUR PAYMENTS ON EXISTING DEBTS CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CREDIT RATINGS. YOU SHOULD NOT ACCEPT ANY ADVICE TO IGNORE YOUR REGULAR PAYMENTS TO YOUR EXISTING LENDERS.
This disclosure requirement was not included in the 2001 regulations.
Counseling Prior to Perfecting Foreclosure Proceedings. If a high risk home loan becomes delinquent by
more than 30 days, the servicer must send a notice advising the borrower that he or she may wish to seek approved credit counseling. The Act provides language with which the notice must, at a minimum, comply. If, within 15 days after mailing the notice, the lender, servicer, or lenders agent is notified in writing by an approved credit counselor, and the counselor advises the lender, servicer, or lenders agent that the borrower is seeking approved credit counseling, the lender, servicer, or lenders agent is prohibited from instituting judicial foreclosure proceedings for 30 days after the date of that notice. The lender must provide only one such 30-day forbearance period per loan. The lender, servicer, or lenders agent is also prohibited from instituting judicial foreclosure proceedings if, within the 30-day period, the lender, servicer, or lenders agent, the approved credit counselor, and the borrower agree to a written debt management plan, so long as the borrower complies with such plan.
Borrowers Right to Cure Default. Before an action is filed to foreclose or collect on a high risk home loan,
and before other action is taken to seize or transfer ownership of property subject to such a loan, the lender or lenders assignee must deliver to the borrower a notice of the right to cure the default by paying the sum of money required within 30 days and reinstate the loan. To cure a default, a borrower must not be required to pay for any attorney fees relating to the default that the lender incurs prior to or during the 30-day period, nor for any such fees in excess of $100 that the lender or assignee incurs after the expiration of the 30-day period but before the lender or assignee files a foreclosure or other judicial action or takes other action to seize or transfer ownership of the real estate. After the lender or assignee files a foreclosure or other judicial action or takes other action to seize or transfer ownership of the real estate, the borrower shall only be liable for attorney fees that are reasonable and actually incurred by the lender or assignee, based on a reasonable hourly rate and a reasonable number of hours. A borrower must not be required to pay any other charge, fee, or penalty attributable to the exercise of the right to cure the default.
Disclosure of Right to Participate in Mortgage Awareness Program. The Act requires a lender to inform the
borrower in writing of the right to participate in the Mortgage Awareness Program prior to making a high risk home loan. The Act does not provide a specific time frame for providing this disclosure, so it appears that it could be provided at any time prior to closing. The borrower may waive participation in the program in writing in a form approved by state regulators, but only within two business days after the borrower receives this notice.
Report of Default and Foreclosure. On or before April 1 and October 1 of each year, each servicer of Illinois
residential mortgage loans must report to the Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate or the Director of Financial Institutions the default and foreclosure data of conventional loans for the six-month period ending June 30 and December 31, respectively. Note that this provision is not limited to high risk home loans. The Act prescribes the data that the servicer must report.
Third-Party Review of High Risk Home Loans. If and when the Illinois General Assembly appropriates
adequate funding for a third-party review program, the borrower must be afforded the opportunity to seek independent review of a high risk home loan by the Office of Banks and Real Estate or the Department of Financial Institutions. If, based on the review, the borrower determines that the loan is not in his or her best economic interest, the reviewer must notify the lender, and such a determination enables the borrower to withdraw from the contemplated loan with no financial penalty.
PENALTIES AND LIABILITY UNDER THE HIGH RISK HOME LOAN ACT
Unlike under the 2001 regulations, the High Risk Home Loan Act provides express remedies, enforcement provisions, and limitations of liability, and links knowing violations of the Act to Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
Violations. Any provision of an agreement that violates the Act is unenforceable against the borrower. In
addition, a knowing violation of the Act is also a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the penalties for which are described below. The Act does not expressly address damages or penalties for other types of violations (i.e., non-knowing violations).
Assignee Liability. The Act provides that any person who purchases or otherwise is assigned or subsequently
holds a high risk home loan is subject to all affirmative claims and defenses with respect to the loan that the borrower could assert against the lender or broker of the loan, although it appears that an assignee only is subject to claims brought by a borrower in an individual capacity. The assignee liability language speaks only in terms of claims and defenses that could be asserted against the lender or broker, and does not explicitly address
to counseling prior to perfecting foreclosure proceedings and the Acts provisions requiring the reporting of default and foreclosure rates expressly apply to servicers. The remaining provisions discussed above, including the prohibitions and restrictions that relate to activities that arise during loan servicing (such as the late payment restrictions and the requirement for same-day crediting of payments), apply to lenders that make high risk home loans, or that transfer, deal in, offer, or make such loans. Thus, while the Act fails to address assignee liability for claims against servicers explicitly, such liability could arise with respect to a lenders failure to comply with certain of the Acts prohibitions and restrictions that arise during servicing. It appears, however, that a servicer that does not also qualify as a lender is not subject to the substantive requirements relating to servicing high risk home loans under the Act.
A purchaser, assignee, or holder is not subject to such claims to the extent it can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that it has in place, at the time of purchase, assignment, or transfer of the loans, policies that expressly prohibit the purchase, acceptance of assignment, or holding of any high risk home loans. The purchaser, assignee, or holder must also demonstrate that it requires, by contract, that a seller, assignor, or transferor of high risk home loans represents and warrants that either (i) the seller, assignor, or transferor will not sell, assign or transfer any high risk home loans to the purchaser, assignee or transferee, or (ii) the seller, assignor or transferor is a beneficiary of a representation and warranty from a previous seller, assignor or transferor to that effect. Finally, the purchaser, assignee, or holder must demonstrate that it exercises reasonable due diligence at the time of purchase, assignment, or transfer of high risk home loans, or within a reasonable period of time afterwards, that is intended to prevent the purchase or assignment of any such loans. The Act provides that a loan-by-loan review is not required, and that the reasonable due diligence requirement may be met by sampling.
With regard to a borrower acting in an individual capacity, the liability of a purchaser, assignee, or holder is limited to the amount required to reduce or extinguish the borrowers liability under the high risk home loan plus the amount required to recover costs, including reasonable attorney fees. The Act also imposes timing limitations upon a borrower asserting claims against a subsequent holder or assignee. The Act provides that a borrower may bring an original (affirmative) action for a violation of the Act in connection with a high risk home loan only within five years of the closing date. However, a borrower may raise any defense, claim, counterclaim or action to enjoin foreclosure or preserve or obtain possession of the home that secures a high risk home loan at any time during the term of the loan after an action to collect on the loan or to foreclose on the collateral securing the loan has been initiated.
Curing Violations; Bona Fide Errors. Neither a lender nor a subsequent purchaser, assignee, or holder of a
high risk home loan is liable for a violation of the Act if, within 30 days of loan closing and prior to receiving any notice from the borrower of the violation, the lender has made appropriate restitution to the borrower and appropriate adjustments are made to the loan. In addition, neither a lender nor a subsequent purchaser, assignee, or holder of a high risk home loan is liable for a violation of the Act if the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error in fact, in spite of the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid such errors, and within 60 days of the discovery of the violation and prior to receiving any notice from the borrower of the violation, the borrower is notified of the violation, appropriate restitution is made to the borrower, and appropriate adjustments are made to the loan.
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. As mentioned above, the High Risk Home Loan Act
also provides that a violation of the Act constitutes an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is enforceable by the Attorney General, and provides for civil penalties of up to $50,000, with an extra $10,000 in penalties if the violation was committed against a person aged 65 or older, as well as private actions for actual economic damages, fees, and costs.
AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIRNESS IN LENDING ACT
Illinois Fairness in Lending Act generally prohibits lenders from denying or varying the terms of a loan on the basis that a specific parcel of real estate offered as security is located in a specific geographical area, denying or varying the terms of a loan without having considered all of the regular and dependable income of each person who would be liable for repayment of the loan, denying or varying the terms of a loan on the sole basis of the childbearing capacity of an applicant or an applicants spouse, and using lending standards that have no economic basis and that are discriminatory in effect. The High Risk Home Loan Act amends the Fairness in Lending Act by adding equity stripping and loan flipping to the list of prohibited activities.
Equity stripping is defined as assisting a person in obtaining a loan secured by the persons principal residence for the primary purpose of receiving fees related to the financing when (i) the loan decreased the persons equity in the principal residence, and (ii) at the time the loan is made, the lender does not reasonably believe that the person will be able to make the scheduled payments to repay the loan. Equity stripping does not, however, include reverse mortgages. Loan flipping means to assist a person in refinancing a loan secured by the persons principal residence for the primary purpose of receiving fees related to the refinancing when (i) the refinancing of the loan results in no tangible benefit to the person, and (ii) at the time the loan is made, the lender does not reasonably believe that the refinancing of the loan will result in a tangible benefit to the person. Principal residence means a persons primary residence that is a dwelling consisting of four or fewer family units or that is in a dwelling consisting of condominium or cooperative units.
The Fairness in Lending Act permits an aggrieved person to bring an action against a lender, who may be held liable for actual damages and court costs. The amendments made by the High Risk Home Loan Act clarify that such an action is an individual action, but allows the Attorney General to bring an action on behalf of the state to enjoin any person from violating the Fairness in Lending Act.
AMENDMENTS TO THE RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LICENSE ACT
The Act also amends Illinois Residential Mortgage License Act by providing for the registration of loan originators (persons who, for compensation, either directly or indirectly make, offer to make, solicit, place, or negotiate a residential mortgage loan), by increasing the net worth requirements for licensees to $150,000, and by increasing the amount of potential fines from $10,000 to $25,000.
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If you have any questions about the Illinois High Risk Home Loan Act or this newsletter, please contact Kris Kully (202-778-9301 / [email protected]), Laurence E. Platt (202-778-9034 / [email protected]), Nanci L. Weissgold (202-778-9314 / [email protected]), or any other member of our Mortgage Banking Consumer Finance Group.
This publication/newsletter is for informational purposes and does not contain or convey legal advice. The information herein should not be used or relied upon in regard to any particular facts or circumstances without first consulting a lawyer.
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MORTGAGE BANKING/CONSUMER FINANCE GROUP
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP was founded in 1946, and, with more than 650 lawyers, is one of the 50 largest law firms in the United States. K&L attorneys are based in ten offices in key U.S. citiesBoston, Dallas, Harrisburg, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Washington. Our firm represents a broad range of clients in a wide variety of matters, including corporate and securities, e-commerce, investment management, insurance coverage, financial institutions, mortgage banking and consumer finance, creditors rights, intellectual property, tax, labor, environmental, antitrust, health care, and government contracts. More than half our attorneys are litigators. We litigate class actions on a range of financial issues, generally defending financial institutions, broker-dealers, public companies, and investment companies and their officers and directors against claims of violations of securities laws, consumer credit laws, and common law tort and contract claims. You can learn more about our firm by visiting our Internet website at www.kl.com.
The Mortgage Banking/Consumer Finance Group provides legal advice and licensing services to the consumer lending industry. We counsel clients engaged in the full range of mortgage banking activities, including the origination, processing, underwriting, closing, funding, insuring, selling, and servicing of residential mortgage loans and consumer loans, from both a transactional and regulatory compliance perspective. Our focus includes both first- and subordinate-lien residential mortgage loans, as well as open-end home equity, property improvement loans and other forms of consumer loans. We also have experience in multi-family and commercial mortgage loans. Our clients include mortgage companies, depository institutions, consumer finance companies, investment bankers, insurance companies, real estate agencies, homebuilders, and venture capital funds. Members of the Mortgage Banking/Consumer Finance Group and their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are listed below:
ATTORNEYS
Laurence E. Platt 202.778.9034 [email protected] Phillip L. Schulman 202.778.9027 [email protected] Costas A. Avrakotos 202.778.9075 [email protected] Melanie Hibbs Brody 202.778.9203 [email protected] Steven M. Kaplan 202.778.9204 [email protected] H. John Steele 202.778.9489 [email protected] Irene C. Freidel 617.261.3115 [email protected] Jonathan Jaffe 415.249.1023 [email protected] R. Bruce Allensworth 617.261.3119 [email protected]
Daniel J. Tobin 202.778.9074 [email protected] Anthony P. La Rocco 973.848.4014 [email protected] David L. Beam 202.778.9026 [email protected] Emily J. Booth 202.778.9112 [email protected] Eric J. Edwardson 202.778.9387 [email protected] Suzanne F. Garwood 202.778.9892 [email protected] Tara L. Goebel 202.778.9261 [email protected] Laura A. Johnson 202.778.9249 [email protected] Kristie D. Kully 202.778.9301 [email protected] Christopher G. Morrison 202.778.9245 [email protected] Sam A. Ozeck 202.778.9085 [email protected] Krista Patterson 202.778.9257 [email protected] Nanci L. Weissgold 202.778.9314 [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF LICENSING
Stacey L. Riggin 202.778.9202 [email protected]
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ANALYSTS
Dana L. Lopez 202.778.9383 [email protected] Nancy J. Butler 202.778.9374 [email protected] Joelle Myers 202.778.9093 [email protected] Marguerite T. Frampton 202.778.9253 [email protected] Jeffrey Prost 202.778.9364 [email protected] Patricia E. Mesa 202.778.9219 [email protected] Kenasha Scott 202.778.9384 [email protected] Heidi M. Evans 202.778.9241 [email protected]
LEGAL ASSISTANTS
