n today’s issue of the Texas Register (Vol. 36, No. 33), the Texas Real Estate Commission published notice of the following revised standard real estate contract forms effective August 24, 2011. These form are available from the Texas Real Estate Commission’s website at http://www.trec.texas.gov/.
Search Results
Read articles below for analysis and discussion of recent trends by BM&G’s industry experts.
Part One of 2011 Legislative Update from 82nd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature – Bills Effective September 1, 2011
This legislative update summarizes eight bills effective September 1, 2011, that we consider are of interest to our clients. The legislative updates that follow this update will summarize the following bills that we consider are of interest to our clients: (i) bills effective September 1, 2011, that are not addressed in this legislative update, (ii) bills that we consider important enough to be the subject of a separate legislative update, and (iii) bills and constitutional amendments effective after September 1, 2011.
Federal Reserve Board Releases Interim Final Rule for Savings And Loan Holding Companies
Today, the Federal Reserve Board published on its web site the following Press Release: “The Federal Reserve Board on Friday issued an interim final rule establishing regulations for savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs). The rule will take effect once it is published in the Federal Register, which is expected soon.
2011 Legislative Update from 82nd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature – Bills Effective Immediately
This legislative update summarizes those bills effective before September 1, 2011, that we consider of interest to our clients. The legislative updates that follow this update will summarize, respectively, (i) those bills that we consider important enough to be the subject of a separate legislative update, and (ii) bills effective on and after September 1, 2011, that we consider of interest to our clients.
Final List of Federal Regulations Enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Starting July 21, 2011
This is to advise you that in the July 21,2011 Federal Register, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) published the attached final list of the federal regulations that will be enforced by the CFPB starting today, July 21, 2011, the designated transfer date established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Refonn and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act)_ The CFPB’s publication of this list will not have a substantive effect on any regulations or the parties who may be subject to them; it merely provides a convenient reference source. The inclusion or exclusion of any regulation does not alter the CFPB’s authority, as Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act and other applicable law defines CFPB’s authority_ In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act does not require the CFPB to update, correct, or otherwise maintain the final list.
Amendments to ECOA and FCRA Adverse Action Notice Model Forms
In the July 15, 2011 Federal Register, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) published a final rule amending the model notices in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s (ECOA) Regulation B (12 CFR Part 202) to implement the new credit score disclosure requirements of section 1100F of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) for adverse action notices under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Corrections and Amendments to Regulation X – GFE and HUD-1
In the July 11, 2011 Federal Register, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a final rule (“July 2011 rule”) that makes technical corrections and clarifying amendments to HUD’s Regulation X final rule that became effective on January 1, 2010 (“January 2010 rule”). The effective date of the July 2011 rule is August 10, 2011. This memorandum addresses the July 2011 rule only as it relates to the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1/1A Settlement Statements. As to the other corrections and amendments made by the July 2011 rule, they are more in the nature of technical corrections and are not addressed in this memorandum.
Lists of OTS Regulations to be Enforced by the OCC and by the FDIC
In the July 6, 2011 Federal Register, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published a joint notice of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) regulations that will be enforced, respectively, by the OCC and FDIC (see the attached lists) beginning on the Dodd-Frank Act transfer date of July 21, 2011. The OCC will enforce the OTS regulations on its list with respect to Federal savings associations; and the FDIC will enforce the OTS regulations on its list with respect to State savings associations. The Dodd-Frank Act abolishes the OTS 90 days after the transfer date.
Regulation Z Amended to Increase Threshold Amount for (1) Exempt Transactions, and (2) HOEPA Points and Fees (76 FR 35722 – 35724)
In the June 20, 2011 issue of the Federal Register the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) published final rules increasing the threshold amounts for the following transactions: Exempt Consumer Credit Transactions Effective July 21, 2011, the Dodd-Frank Act amends TILA by increasing the threshold amount for exempt consumer credit transactions from $25,000 to $50,000 (see §226.3(b) of Regulation Z). In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that this threshold be adjusted annually by any annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. (See our April 5, 2011 memorandum at http://www.bmandg.com/). Effective January 1, 2012, the FRB is adjusting the exemption threshold under §226.3(b) for 2012 from $50,000 to $51,800, based on the annual percentage increase in the above CPI-W as of June 1, 2011, by adding new paragraph 1.iii to comment 3(b) of the Official Staff Commentary to Regulation Z.
Preliminary List of Rules Subject to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
In the May 31, 2011 Federal Register, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) published the following preliminary list of the rules that will be enforced by the CFPB once enforcement authority for these rules is transferred to it on the designated transfer date of July 21, 2011. The CFPB will publish the final list not later than that date. The inclusion or exclusion of any rule on or from these lists will not alter the CFPB’s authority, as Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and other applicable law defines CFPB’s authority. Thus, neither this preliminary list nor the final list will have a substantive effect on any rules or the parties who may be subject to them. They merely provide a convenient reference source.