Structured Finance Spectrum - July 2019

ALSTON & BIRD ANNOTATIONS Alston & Bird Launches Consumer Finance Blog READ MORE REGULATORY No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service: NYDFS to Overhaul Mortgage Loan Servicer Business Conduct The New York State Department of Financial Services has proposed significant changes to the mortgage servicer business conduct rules found in Part 419 of the Superintendent’s Regulations. READ ARTICLE RESI ROUNDUP Sweating Out the QM Patch Expiration The “QM Patch”was enacted as a temporary provision of the qualified mort- gage rule to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to exceed the qualified mort- gage debt-to-income ratio (DTI) and originate or acquire mortgage loans with a DTI in excess of 43 percent. Approximately $210 billion to $310 billion of annual originations are currently protected by the QM Patch. READ ARTICLE CONSUMER FINANCE Daaaad, AreWe ThereYet!? The Madden v. Midland RoadTrip Continues After eight rather unsettling years, the parties in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC finally reached a settlement agreement this past March, with the class members receiving monetary damages and substantial reductions in their credit balance. READ ARTICLE PRACTITIONER NOTES Summer School’s in Session: LIBOR 101 The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), often referred to as the “world’s most important number,” is a benchmark interest rate cal- culation that is ubiquitous as the reference rate for trillions of dollars of debt capital mar- kets transactions, including bond issuances, loans and derivatives. Globally, it is esti- mated that over $350 trillion in financial arrangements are tied to LIBOR as the reference interest rate. READ ARTICLE TRENDWATCH LocateYour Lemonade Stand Here: The Tax Benefits of Investing in Opportunity Zones In enacting sections 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 sought to encourage economic development and job creation in economically distressed communities that are designated as qualified opportunity zones (OZs). OZs cover approxi- mately 12 percent of the land in the U.S., and investment in OZs offer investors specific tax benefits. READ ARTICLE $ $ JULY 2019