Tag Archives: Reform

Peninsula Financial Advisor Larry Krause Explains How Financial Reform Affects the Average American

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San Bruno, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 09, 2011

The financial crisis of 2008, the worst shock to the global financial system since the Great Depression, pushed lawmakers to enact sweeping reforms in an attempt to prevent such a devastating disruption to the economy from happening again. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed by congress in July 2010, has far-reaching regulatory changes that will be felt not only banks and Wall Street, but also average Americans. Larry Krause, a Peninsula financial advice expert and president of Tessara Financial Advisors, Inc., explains some of the ways the new legislation aimed at lenders, banks and ratings agencies affect the average person.

The Dodd-Frank Act changes rules governing credit and lending practices of mortgage lenders in order to better protect borrowers from predatory lending. Lenders are now required to verify that borrowers can reasonably be expected to be able to repay the entire loan amount, including taxes and fees. While these rules may limit the size of the mortgage you qualify for, theyre intended to prevent you from being steered into a loan thats not suitable for you, says Bay Area money manager Larry Krause. Lenders now cannot refinance existing mortgages unless doing so would benefit the borrower. The Dodd-Frank Act also limits balloon payments and prepayment penalties.

One major provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that affects average citizens is the creation of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, a federal regulatory agency that oversees consumer financial products and services. In addition to regulating consumer products such as mortgages and student loans, the Bureau tracks complaints, ensures equal opportunity to credit, and promotes financial literacy among consumers.

Changes to banking rules and regulations will also be felt by consumers. The temporary increase in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guarantee on bank deposits to $ 250,000 is now permanent. This increase in protection means that if you and your spouse each have separate deposit accounts as well as a single joint account at a single bank, the two of you could qualify for as much as $ 1 million worth of total FDIC protection for those accounts, according to Krause.

Banks are also now required to hold larger amounts in reserve, and retain at least a 5% stake in any potentially risky securitized loans they make. They face new limits on proprietary trading and derivative swaps. These measures aim to prevent future bank bailouts that come at the expense of taxpayers.

Lack of transparency from credit rating agencies is often cited as one of the causes of the financial crisis. The Dodd-Frank Act addresses this in several ways: Free access to credit scores is now available for those whose credit score led to them being turned down for a credit card, house or job.

Credit ratings agencies are also now be subject to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight, and can face fines for faulty ratings. The new Office of the Investor Advocate within the SEC was created to help individual investors with resolutions to problems. This gives investors greater confidence in their investments, as does the provision that allows investors to sue the ratings agencies for issuing knowingly flawed ratings.

The expansive Dodd-Frank Act covers many other areas, from SEC registration of hedge funds to whistleblower protection and incentives to guidelines for orderly liquidation in the event of bank failure. Not all provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented or felt by average consumers right away. Thats why its important to have someone help you monitor those regulations as they evolve and evaluate just how they might affect you, says Krause. Dont hesitate to seek expert advice.

For more information about the new financial reform legislation, or any other services from Tessara Financial Advisors, call (800) 331-5843 or visit their website at http://www.tessaraadvisors.com.

About Tessara Financial Advisors, Inc.

Tessara Financial Advisors, Inc. is a Registered Bay Area Investment Advice firm that specializes in providing the entire spectrum of wealth management services, including financial planning, retirement planning, life and long-term care insurance analysis, tax planning, estate planning, charitable giving, asset protection planning and forming strategic alliances. Their goal is to build long term relationships with clients and their advisors that are mutually beneficial and built on the highest level of integrity, trust and service.

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Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act: No Captive Insurance Impact; Consortium Agrees with White Paper Conclusions

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Montpelier, Vermont (PRWEB) October 14, 2011

The new federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), often referred to as the Dodd Frank Act, has no applicability to captive insurance. That is the conclusion of an independent white paper prepared for the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) by the law firm of McIntyre and Lemon, PLLC of Washington, DC.

Both the language of the legislation itself and the legislative intent are clear that the law was meant to apply only to the surplus lines market not captive insurance, said Dave Provost, Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance.

A consortium of the VCIA, the Captive Insurance Companies Association and the National Risk Retention Association agreed with the conclusion of the white paper. There was no intent to have NRRA encompass captive insurance, said Rich Smith, President of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association.

“There is a good deal of misinformation that is being disseminated to captive insurance companies, said Dan Towle, Vermonts Director of Financial Services. This does a disservice to the captive insurer and to the industry.

The white paper went to great lengths to analyze Congressional legislative intent, quoting from the chief bill sponsors as to the focus of the bill being surplus lines of insurance. Based on this analysis and the language of the NRRA itself, the white paper concludes both that (1) captive insurers should not be subject to the NRRAs nonadmitted insurance provisions because they are not placing nonadmitted insurance within the meaning of the NRRA and (2) the NRRA did not change the application of state independently procured insurance laws, nor should it restrict the collection of premium taxes paid for independently procured insurance to the home state of the insured, as it does for nonadmitted insurance. The white paper can be read in its entirety at http://www.VermontCaptive.com/DoddFrank.

It is prudent for captive insurance companies to seek counsel from their attorneys, tax advisors and captive managers if they have questions on the applicability of self procurement taxes, said Towle. Generally speaking, if you have been advised that self procurement taxes were not applicable before the NRRA, they would not be applicable now. The NRRA itself did not create any new taxes.

Captive insurance is a regulated form of self insurance that has been around since the 1960s, and has been a part of the Vermont insurance industry since 1981, when Vermont passed the Special Insurer Act. Captive insurance companies are formed by companies or groups of companies as a form of alternative insurance to better manage their own risk. Captives are typically used for corporate lines of insurance such as property, general liability, products liability, or professional liability. Growth sectors of the captive insurance industry include securitization, professional medical malpractice coverage for doctors and hospitals, and the continued trend of small and mid-sized companies forming captive insurance companies.

For more information on Vermonts captive industry, visit http://www.vermontcaptive.com or call Dan Towle at 802-828-5232 or email dan(dot)towle(at)state(dot)vt(dot)us.

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Captive Insurance Industry Experts Continue to Weigh In on Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act: No Captive Insurance Impact

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Montpelier, VT (PRWEB) November 08, 2011

The McIntyre White Paper Report on the new federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), part of the recently passed Dodd Frank Act, continues to garner agreement among captive insurance industry experts concluding that the law has no applicability to captive insurance. The white paper was prepared by the law firm of McIntyre and Lemon, PLLC of Washington, DC.

The McIntyre Report gives a convincing explanation of why captive insurance is not part of NRRA, said Tom Jones, partner with McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Chicago. The intent of NRRA appears to have been solely on surplus lines and never meant to include captive insurance, he added.

Skip Myers is the Managing Partner with Morris Manning & Martin, LLP in Washington, DC, Although this legislation was intended by Congress to create uniformity in the surplus lines market, the actions of the states have had the opposite effect. The legislative history is clear that Congress never intended this legislation to affect any insurance other than surplus lines, said Myers.

There is considerable misinformation circulating regarding NRRA, said Daniel Towle, Vermonts Director of Financial Services. Certain states are using this as an opportunity to try to domicile captives in their state. It is a disservice to the industry that some states are using this tactic in an attempt to leverage new business. We strongly recommend seeking factual documentation for such assertions to avoid costly and unnecessary consequences.

As legal experts weigh in on NRRA, industry accountants are now voicing their professional assessment on the laws application to captive insurance. We dont believe it applies to captive insurers. We are advising clients to sit tight as further guidance will be forthcoming, said Gary Bowers, CPA, and Tax Partner with Johnson Lambert & Company LLP. Bowers goes on to state, Captives are not surplus lines writers, and we believe NRRA was intended to only affect surplus lines writers.

We concur with the reasoning and conclusion reached in the McIntyre White Paper that NRRA should not apply to captive insurance companies, said Dan Kusaila, CPA, and Tax Partner with Saslow Lufkin & Buggy, LLP. NRRA did not create any new taxes and we are recommending a wait and see approach to our clients, said Kusaila.

The McIntyre White Paper went to great lengths to analyze Congressional legislative intent, concluding that the focus of the bill was for surplus lines of insurance. Based on this analysis and the language of the NRRA itself, the white paper concludes both that (1) captive insurers should not be subject to the NRRAs nonadmitted insurance provisions because they are not placing nonadmitted insurance within the meaning of the NRRA and (2) the NRRA did not change the application of state independently procured insurance laws, nor should it restrict the collection of premium taxes paid for independently procured insurance to the home state of the insured, as it does for nonadmitted insurance. The white paper can be read in its entirety at http://www.VermontCaptive.com/DoddFrank.

A consortium of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association, the Captive Insurance Companies Association and the National Risk Retention Association also agreed with the McIntyre White Paper.

Captive insurance is a regulated form of self insurance that has existed since the 1960s, and has been a part of the Vermont insurance industry since 1981, when Vermont passed the Special Insurer Act. Captive insurance companies are formed by companies or groups of companies as a form of alternative insurance to better manage their own risk. Captives are typically used for corporate lines of insurance such as property, general liability, products liability, or professional liability. Growth sectors of the captive insurance industry include securitization, professional medical malpractice coverage for doctors and hospitals, and the continued trend of small and mid-sized companies forming captive insurance companies.

For more information on Vermonts captive industry, visit http://www.vermontcaptive.com or call Dan Towle at 802-828-5232 or email dan(dot)towle(at)state(dot)vt(dot)us.

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Open up Letter To President Urges Him To Go Over and above Refinancing Reform

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Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) June fourteen, 2012

With the White Property searching for community enter on President Obamas proposal for expanded refinancing on property mortgages, genuine estate attorney and legal commentator Roy Oppenheim urges him to be daring and find out even further reform.

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In a open letter posted on Oppenheim Laws South Florida Regulation Website, Oppenheim calls the Presidents current press to let far more underwater property owners to take gain of todays reduced house loan costs a step in the appropriate route, despite the fact that one particular that must have occur significantly before in Obamas initial expression.

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For once, the president is pushing a bailout that helps every person, not just the banks, states Oppenheim, Thats a optimistic sign, but this laws still fails to offer with the root result in of the housing collapse.

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Even now Oppenheim calls the Presidents focus on the majority of underwater property owners who are nonetheless spending their home loans critical, expressing they are typically still left guiding in the governments efforts to support folks on the brink of foreclosure.

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These homeowners have been played for suckers, their only reward for striving to do the right point has been unconscionable fascination costs, Oppenheim explains.

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The Presidents press to simplicity refinancing limits for all home owners, not just people who have financial loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can do tremendous excellent, he adds, but it nonetheless does not offer you them considerable principal reduction.

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I suspect several will consider the placement that they dont want to refinance if their houses are so much underwater, Oppenheim says.

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And the bottom line, in accordance to the co-founder of Oppenheim Legislation, is if the banks have been not too massive to fail and too large to jail, that these kinds of legislation would not be needed.

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You nonetheless have 5 large banking companies managing over half of the countrys banking belongings, and they have no incentive to compete for your company, Oppenheim adds, As extended as youre dealing with securitized trusts, Im not positive how the authorities will have the authority to get loans modified.

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In his open letter, Oppenheim goes on to say if the President is genuinely hunting out for the home owners rather of the banking institutions and their bondholders, then he need to length the United States authorities from the financial institutions on Wall Street.

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Capitol Hill now resembles some kind of human centipede of its personal creation. We nonetheless cant explain to the big difference in between the government, the personal sector, the Federal Reserve and the financial institutions.

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Refinancing reform is just one more band-aid, and the housing market demands open coronary heart surgical treatment.

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So Oppenheim is urging the President to be bold and put the excess weight of his business office behind breaking up the countrys greatest financial institutions.

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If the banking institutions have been scaled-down, they would have to offer you refinancing on their very own as a way to keep competitive, Oppenheim claims, If the President want to get back some of the have confidence in he has missing in this place, than reducing down the excessive girth of these humongous institutions must be his prime precedence.

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Oppenheim appreciates that the President is even attempting to do one thing about the housing disaster, simply because he feels Mitt Romney and his Republican challengers failed to adequately handle the problem during their campaigns.

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When the GOP candidates campaigned below in Florida, they refused to supply any kind of resolution past permitting the market place to appropriate alone, Oppenheim adds, I respect the President for at the very least striving to do anything.

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All Oppenheim wants to see is accountability and obligation, both in the govt and at the banking companies.

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As an alternative of encouraging the banks to contend, make competitors a necessity, he concludes.

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Greenberg Traurigs Robert Bostrom Speaking on U.S. Housing Finance Reform at ASF 2013

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New York (PRWEB) January 25, 2013

Robert Bostrom, a shareholder in the New York City business office of intercontinental law agency Greenberg Traurig, LLP, will converse on the U.S. Housing Finance Reform panel on Monday, January 28 at the American Securitization Message boards ASF 2013 convention in Las Vegas. Bostrom will join prime housing pros and regulators to have a panel discussion on the recent point out of housing finance reform and the outlook for 2013. The annual meeting attracts pros involved in the securitization market, and with more than four,500 registered contributors, ASF 2013 is anticipated to be the largest funds markets meeting in the planet.

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Bostrom served as Freddie Macs Govt Vice President, General Counsel and Company Secretary from 2006 to July 2011, in which he played a pivotal role in the course of the fiscal disaster and restoration, directing Freddie Macs legal method through the conservatorship, investigations, enforcement actions and litigation. He oversaw the response to the congressional committee, Securities and Exchange Fee and other federal regulators inquiries and investigations into Freddie Mac, as properly as securities class and spinoff steps.

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Greenberg Traurig is a sponsor at ASF 2013 and will have many associates of its Structured Finance &amp Derivatives practice in attendance. Lawyers in the Structured Finance &amp Derivatives practice symbolize issuers, underwriters, hedge funds, traders, servicers and trustees in link with the securitization of a wide assortment of financial belongings, the structuring of complex by-product merchandise and the workout of distressed securitization transactions. Greenberg Traurig focuses on identifying new directions and trends in the structured finance markets and helping clients determine new markets and chances to accomplish their business targets.

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About Greenberg Traurig, LLP&#thirteen

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an global, complete-service regulation company with roughly 1750 attorneys serving clients from 35 workplaces in the United States, Latin The united states, Europe, the Center East and Asia. In the U.S., the organization has far more workplaces than any other amid the Prime ten on The Countrywide Regulation Journal’s 2012 NLJ 250. For added info, make sure you go to http://www.gtlaw.com.

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