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Next week, hundreds of industry participants will make their way to New York for CREFC’s Annual Conference.

The conference promises to provide a forum to explore present and future market trends in commercial real estate, as well as an opportunity to gain valuable insight from many leaders in the market as to where we are and where we are headed. With panels such as “Lend-sanity: Competition Between Balance Sheet and Conduit Lenders” and “Borrowers: Is it their Game Now?”, it is clear there is no shortage of activity in commercial real estate, and there shouldn’t be any shortage of interest in this forum. The conference’s keynote address will come from Blackstone’s Global Head of Real Estate, Jonathon Gray, who will be sure to offer a unique viewpoint of the current and future landscape of real estate investments. Continue Reading CREFC Returns to the Big Apple

As we have discussed numerous times in this blog (here, here, here and here), the downturn in the commercial real estate market resulted in much litigation as to guarantor liability for non-recourse debt. As a brief refresher, many of the non-recourse loans made during the CMBS boom included an agreement that, in an event of default, the lender would only exercise remedies against the property securing the loan and not against the borrower (or its principals or sponsors), with an exception for certain borrower “bad-acts” (such as misappropriation of rents, fraud, and in certain instances, borrower bankruptcy or insolvency). In the event the borrower perpetuated any of these bad acts, the guarantor agreed to be liable either for the losses incurred by the lender, or for the full amount of the loan, depending on the bad act committed.Continue Reading On Appeal: The Michigan Court of Appeals Overturns It’s Prior Ruling and Affirms the State’s 2012 Legislation, Nonrecourse Mortgage Loan Act, Which Invalidates Recourse Carveout Guaranties Triggered by Borrower Insolvency

The Miami Heat’s home playoff games are not going to be the only events drawing attention to sunny Miami next week as IMN hosts its annual REO-to-Rental Forum in Miami. As we have previously discussed numerous times (here, here and here, and OnPoint Updates here and here), the REO-to-Rental asset class has become quite a hot topic and this conference is sure to provide invaluable insight into current trends in the market, as well as where market participants see this class of assets going over the near- and far-term.Continue Reading IMN’s REO-to-Rental Forum 2013: Welcome to Miami

The second annual IMN CLO and Leveraged Loan Conference returned to New York this past week. Building on last year’s momentum (discussed here), over 1,500 managers and investors, in addition to structurers, bankers, lawyers and other industry actors, filled the convention space at the Conrad Hotel, doubling last year’s attendance and causing standing room only conditions in the large downtown venue. Yes, many conference attendees were literally prevented by conference staff from entering the fully packed Conrad ballrooms.Continue Reading Second Annual IMN CLO and Leveraged Loan Conference Update

A recent decision out of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York has brought greater certainty to the interpretation of what qualifies as an “interest” when determining the scope of a Section 363(f) “free and clear” sale in bankruptcy. The decision in In re Tougher Industries, Inc. became the latest in…

The FDIC’s new rules (promulgated per the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act) for calculating deposit insurance assessments for insured depository institutions, including "large institutions" and "highly complex institutions," are set to become effective on April Fool’s Day, 2013. No kidding. As institutions of this type are active investors in CLOs, particularly the “AAA”-rated tranche of CLOs, there has been significant consternation among market participants on the immediate and long-term effect of such new rules.Continue Reading CLO Update: New FDIC Rules on “Higher Risk Securitizations”

February has certainly been a big month for federal agencies to issue long-awaited final rules. The latest agency to throw its hat into the ring is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which recently codified its long standing position that liability under the Fair Housing Act may be proven by disparate impact without any discriminatory intentions.  This final rule provides additional support to potential government and private plaintiffs seeking to challenge “facially neutral” practices as violations of the Fair Housing Act.  We have previously blogged about the different types of liability related to discrimination in lending here.  This rulemaking comes at a time when lenders have already begun to reexamine how they will structure their residential mortgage lending activities in the face of the CFPB’s new qualified mortgage rules.  (See our DechertOnPoints for more information on the new QM/ATR rule and the additional proposal).Continue Reading HUD’s Final Rule on Fair Housing Act Liability Explained in New Dechert OnPoint

While we’re on the topic of Dodd-Frank rules and regs that could have a significant impact on the securitization market, the SEC recently reported the findings of a study it conducted regarding assigned credit ratings for structured finance products – a report required under Section 939F of the Dodd-Frank Act that will subsequently lead to new rulemaking. Continue Reading Dechert OnPoint Details Recent SEC Report on Credit Ratings for Structured Finance Products

Dechert’s securitization team is looking forward to the American Securitization Forum 2013 (“ASF 2013”) conference starting this Sunday, as it is expected to be once again the largest capital markets conference in the world. ASF 2013 is expecting over 4,500 participants who will all convene at the Aria Hotel and Convention Center in fabulous Las Vegas.Continue Reading ASF 2013 (“Viva Las Vegas”)