MERSCORP, Inc. (“MERS”) has been under fire for years. We wrote about it a while back when residential mortgage borrowers challenged the ability of MERS to foreclose on mortgages it held on the theory that MERS, as a mere nominee to the lender, was not a real party in interest. More recently, local recording offices have filed class action suits against MERS arguing that the MERS system prevented them from collecting fees supposedly required under state law. Now there’s a sympathetic plaintiff! In the past month, the Third Circuit and Fifth Circuit both rejected these arguments.
Continue Reading MERS: Better Than a Faster Horse
Risk Retention Realized – Potential Solutions for CLO Market Participants
In anticipation of the effective date of the Final Rule on December 24, 2016 (early Christmas gift?), CLO market participants have been constructing solutions that allow collateral managers to raise the capital necessary to support investments required by the Final Rule.
We have seen an increased use of a hybrid structure that has been referred
Volcker Rule – Five Years On
After years of delays, changes and significant debate, the Volcker Rule is now, largely, in full effect. Sold to a sometimes intellectually incurious Congress and the electorate as a central piece of legislation to limit systemic risks to the financial system, the Volcker Rule, among other things, prohibits “banking entities” from engaging in proprietary trading activities and acquiring or retaining “ownership interests” in (or acting as sponsors of) certain “covered funds.”
Continue Reading Volcker Rule – Five Years On