News By Edition

In a recent report targeted at nonbank financial companies and fintech, the Treasury Department offered recommendations on third-party vendor oversight.

Although the report brought up the issues given the prism of relationships between financial technology firms and nonbank financial firms, the Treasury Department recommendations rang well beyond that arena.

Its potentially biggest recommendation: For all prudential financial regulators to review current third-party guidance through notice-and-comment process.

It’s been more than two years since the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network began requiring title agents and underwriters in certain areas to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used to pay all cash for high-end residential real estate. New legislation being introduced in the Senate looks to make those requirements permanent and nationwide. American Land Title Association (ALTA) Senior Counsel Steve Gottheim talked with The Legal Description about what the move could mean for agents and underwriters.

A University of Miami study on money laundering and real estate in the Miami market, published in December 2017, found that work by the title insurance industry was helping stem the tide of illegal money into the market without harming the broader real estate market. As the Senate considers legislation which would expand geographic targeting orders to the entire nation, the American Land Title Association is asking for agents’ and underwriters’ to share their stories and help make that potential process as least burdensome as possible.

In its brief appealing a recent state supreme court decision, the New York State Attorney General’s office hammered home the Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) opinion that the title insurance industry is “rife with abuses.” Read on to take a deeper dive into the state’s arguments upon appeal.

A new report from Juniper Research finds that data breaches are expected to result in the theft of more than 146 billion records from 2018-2023 – with the United States a growing target for criminals. Read on for more details of the findings.

Owners of title agencies in Colorado were indicted recently by a state grand jury in Denver. The pair is accused of the theft of $733,000 of funds that should have been placed in trust for their policyholders. Read on for more details.

It is important to have a plan and think out what you will need to do in the minutes, days and months after an attack occurs, but it is also critically important to know who to make aware of the situation and how you can help one another. During the National Settlement Services Summit, experts in the field shared how to best work with your partners after a cyberattack. Read on for more details.

A title company was awarded summary judgment in a case where the district court ruled claims against the title company were beyond the statute of limitations.

The court of appeals reversed the decision, however, and the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the appellate court’s reversal – but for different reasons than the appellate court used.

Read on for details of the state supreme court’s decision.

New legislation in Louisiana took effect Aug. 1 granting the state insurance commissioner the authority to allow an insurance producer to employ in his business or to associate with his business an individual previously convicted of a felony if the producer first obtains the written consent of or a waiver from the commissioner.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued an advisory letter to all insurance producers to detail terms of the statute and implementation.

Read on for details of the letter and how producers need to come into compliance with the new state law.

A Delaware man who bought 27 investment properties sued his attorneys for malpractice after a problem with mistitling on 12 of the properties eventually caused the man to lose all of them to foreclosure.

The attorneys moved for judgment, saying the man was not the party who lost the properties in foreclosure, and that he personally suffered no injury.

Read on for details about the court’s decision.

The New York Department of Financial Services issued a reminder to covered entities that the third transitional period in the agency’s cybersecurity regulation will end Sept. 4. At that time, regulated entities are required to comply with various aspects of the rule, including encryption for nonpublic information.

“Sept. 4 marks another important milestone in further protecting the financial services industry and the consumers they serve,” Superintendent Maria Vullo said in a press release.

Read on for more on what companies will be required to comply with beginning in September.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Aug. 3 signed Substitute Senate Bill 220 into law, providing a legal safe harbor to covered entities that implement a specified cybersecurity program, and allowing transactions recorded by Blockchain technology under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. Read on for details of the cybersecurity programs which qualify for the safe harbor protection.

Although cybertheft and wire fraud have been in the news a lot in the last few years, it’s important to remember that there are numerous other types of fraud that can be perpetrated against escrow and settlement providers. During the National Settlement Services Summit, Juliana Tu, president, Viva Escrow! Inc. and president-elect of the California Escrow Association, and Art Davis, Washington representative, American Escrow Association, talked about what other frauds to be aware of, how it could impact you if you go to trial and best practices to avoid being a victim. Read on for more details.

The New York State Attorney General’s office has filed an appeal on behalf of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in its case with the New York State Land Title Association (NSYLTA). The appeal was filed Aug. 6 and is expected to be heard in the fall, potentially in October, according to a NYSLTA blog posting. Read on for details of the state’s arguments.

In a case similar to that it won in state court against Amrock, HouseCanary Inc. filed suit against QuickenLoans Inc., One Reverse Mortgage LLC and In-House Realty LLC. The case was filed in May in U.S. District court in San Antonio. It recently sought a TRO to prohibit the companies from using its proprietary information. Read on for more on the case.

MISMO announced that it will create two new groups designed to help improve risk management of third parties, and is looking for industry experts to participate in each. “A collaborative effort to develop best practices and standards that includes lenders, service providers, investors and regulators, offers the opportunity to foster more efficient and productive third party risk management strategies that will benefit lenders, service providers and others,” MISMO Executive Vice President Rick Hill said.