Friday's News

July 19, 2019

A delegation of NYBA members met with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria this week at the Association offices. A full range of issues were covered in the roundtable discussion. Director Calabria is the sole regulator of the GSEs, including the Federal Home Loan Banks, in the United States. The meeting culminates a series of such sessions between NYBA and leading regulators at the State and federal level, including Comptroller Joseph Otting, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams, DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell, and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. NYBA plans additional meetings in the Fall and Winter. 

State Legislative Developments

• Governor Cuomo signed two notable bills into law: the Farm Workers bill which provides workers with collective bargaining rights and a set 60-hour work week; and an environmental climate change bill that establishes a Climate Action Council and sets forth a plan to reduce greenhouse gases while shifting the state to renewable energy to ultimately create a carbon neutral system by 2040.

State Regulatory Developments

• DFS published a notice of Emergency Rule Making and Notice of Adoption to implement a portion of the Mortgage Lending Reform Law of 2008 with respect to the registration and financial responsibility requirements for mortgage loan servicers (Part 418 to Title 3 NYCRR). Specifically, the rule establishes a registration requirement for mortgage loan servicers, with a registration exemption for banking organizations, and sets forth financial responsibility requirements for all mortgage loan servicers. The new rule is substantially similar to the prior rule on the same matter. While the emergency rule expires on August 29, 2019, the permanent rule has now been adopted, as it took effect upon its publication in the State Register on July 17, 2019.

Legal Developments

• New York, along with New Jersey and Connecticut, filed a federal law suit in the Southern District of New York against the Trump administration, challenging recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules that outlaw certain workarounds to the cap on state and local tax deductions, commonly referred to as the SALT cap. The lawsuit argues the IRS is making a “radical break with historical precedent” by outlawing the workarounds and seeks an injunction.
• Landlord groups filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York on Monday, arguing a U.S. constitutional challenge to New York’s recently enacted rent regulations. The lawsuit alleges that the State and City governments had, in effect, taken over nearly a million rent-regulated apartments with the new law, and, as such, is violating constitutional protections against the taking of private property without just compensation.

Questions?
Contact Mike Smith at (212) 297-1699 or msmith@nyba.com, or Clare Cusack at (212) 297-1664 or ccusack@nyba.com.
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Questions?