As the Obama Administration announced the details of its Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”) in March and April, 2009, one crucial element remained missing: a “safe harbor” for loan modifications made under HAMP. That safe harbor was provided by the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (the “Act”), which was enacted by Congress on May 19, 2009, and signed into law by President Obama the following day.
Continue Reading...On May 19, 2009, the House of Representatives approved S.896 (the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009”) by a margin of 367–54 and, on May 20, 2009, President Obama signed the bill into law. The bill includes legislation known as the “Public-Private Investment Program Improvement and Oversight Act of 2009” (the “Act”), which will impose significant duties on fund managers under the Public-Private Investment Program (“PPIP”) announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”). These provisions may limit managers’ interest in participating in the PPIP. A copy of S.896 is available here.
Continue Reading...Starting in July 2009, certain high-quality commercial mortgage-backed securities issued before January 1, 2009 (known as "legacy CMBS") will become eligible collateral under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), according to a Federal Reserve Board announcement today. The Federal Reserve previously announced, on May 1, 2009, it would expand the range of acceptable TALF collateral to include newly issued CMBS starting with the June 16, 2009 subscription date. The Federal Reserve also released a new term sheet and a frequently-asked-questions document, specific to legacy CMBS, today.
Additionally, the New York Federal Reserve announced a new TALF operation date for loans secured by asset-backed securities (ABS). Subscriptions will be accepted on June 2, 2009, with a June 9, 2009 closing date. The three year maturity date is June 11, 2012 and the five year maturity date is June 9, 2014.
Click here for the new legacy CMBS terms and conditions, and click here for the frequently asked questions.
Click here for the press release on the new TALF operation date.
On May 11, 2009, the U.S. Treasury released its General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2010 Revenue Proposals (the “Revenue Proposals”). The Revenue Proposals include several provisions affecting private investment funds, such as private equity funds, hedge funds and venture capital funds, and their managers.
Continue Reading...On May 6, 2009, the Senate approved S. 896, the “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009” by a margin of 95–1. The legislation includes amendments by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Ensign (R-NV) (collectively, the “Amendments”) to provide additional oversight over the Public-Private Investment Program (“PPIP”) announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”). The Amendments impose significant duties on PPIP fund managers, including an obligation to acknowledge fiduciary duties to investors, which may limit managers’ interest in participating in the PPIP. A copy of S.896 is available here.
Continue Reading...The Treasury Department announced a plan to regulate over-the-counter derivatives today. The plan calls for aggregating data in a clearinghouse, margin and capital requirements, as well as reporting and record keeping requirements, according to the Treasury Department press release. Treasury Secretary Geithner additionally detailed the proposal, which will require congressional action, in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today.
Click here for today's press release, and click here for Secretary Geithner's letter.
The results of the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program, commonly referred to as "stress tests," for 19 U.S. bank holding companies will be released Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 5 p.m. ET, according to a joint statement by Treasury Department Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Sheila Bair, and Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan. The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program examined all U.S. bank holding companies with year-end 2008 assets exceeding $100 billion. Today's joint statement notes that if any of the examined U.S. bank holding companies needs to augment its capital buffer, it will have until June 8, 2009 to develop a capital plan and until November 9, 2009 to implement that capital plan.
Click here for today's joint statement.
In these economic times, many hotel owners are focusing on very proactive asset management. One item worth investigating: How does your manager book hotel revenues generated from online travel agencies?
When a guest books a hotel room through an online travel agency or OTA, the OTA collects the room price from the guest, deducts its negotiated commission and transfers the balance to the hotel manager. We understand that some managers are including the room price paid by the guest to the OTA in their gross revenue calculations despite the fact that managers do not actually receive such amounts. Other gross revenue discrepancies can result from promotional incentives like free breakfasts, the value of which are also sometimes included in gross revenues.
On May 4, 2009, President Obama and Secretary Geithner announced four tax proposals relating to offshore investments that will be included in the Obama administration’s (the “Administration”) full budget, which will be released later in May. A general description of the proposals is presented below. The Administration indicated that additional international tax reforms also will be included in the full budget. The budget is also expected to provide for an additional 800 Internal Revenue Service employees devoted to international tax enforcement.
Continue Reading...Beginning this June both commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and securities backed by insurance premium finance loans will become eligible collateral under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), according to the Federal Reserve Board. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board announced that TALF loans with maturities of five years will be available this June. All TALF loans currently have maturities of three years. Click here for the Federal Reserve Board's press release. Click here for terms and conditions for TALF CMBS, and click here for frequently asked questions regarding TALF CMBS.
This website is for general information purposes only. Information posted is not intended to be legal advice. For more information, please see the Disclaimer and Privacy Notice links.
Enter keywords:
