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Please Click HerePosted on January 5, 2018 by Ruder Ware Alumni
On September 27, 2017, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, and the OCC (the “Agencies”) issued a proposed rule that simplifies the compliance requirements of the existing regulatory capital rules and is intended to reduce the regulatory burden imposed by it. Developed with small- and medium-sized banks in mind, the proposed rule would: replace the complex […]
Posted on December 13, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
It has come to our attention that some examiners have recently been carefully scrutinizing financial institutions’ employee compensation arrangements. Although it now appears unlikely that the proposed Dodd-Frank rules on financial-institution incentive compensation (which only apply to institutions with at least $1 billion in total assets) will ever take effect, examiners still do take compensation, […]
Posted on December 1, 2017 by Matthew D. Rowe
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) has recently updated its “Business Combinations” booklet, which is part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. The revised booklet replaces the prior version, which was issued by the OCC in December 2006. The booklet incorporates a variety of updated procedures and requirements for national banks and federal […]
Posted on August 2, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Joint Resolution 111 which would rescind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “Arbitration Rule”. Finalized on July 17, 2017, the Arbitration Rule places significant limitations on financial institutions’ ability to designate arbitration as the dispute resolution mechanism in its contracts with depositors and borrowers; additionally, the Rule […]
Posted on July 19, 2017 by Christopher M. Seelen
A quick introduction for those of you who are not bankruptcy nerds. For certain types of collateral, Chapter 13 allows a Debtor to reduce a secured creditor’s claim down to the value of the collateral. This is called “cram down.” But, there are certain limits on the Debtor’s “cram down” powers. For example, the Debtor […]
Posted on July 5, 2017 by Paul J. Mirr
We recently helped a client complete long-term tax-exempt bond financing of a portion of a mixed-use condominium. These projects raise interesting issues. Long story short, if you find yourself in a similar situation, you need to be very careful as to how you document costs and how you define each condominium element. Quick, simplified background: […]
Posted on April 27, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
It’s not every day that community bankers and credit unions agree. Whether it is over tax-exempt status or capital requirements, we have become accustomed to the battle between community banks and credit unions. For example, an entire section of the Independent Community Bank Association’s website is dedicated to advocating against the “expansionist agenda” of credit […]
Posted on April 19, 2017 by John D. Leary
In the last two weeks, 75 Wisconsin dairy farmers were notified by their dairy that it could not accept their milk. The dairy and its farmer suppliers are caught in a U.S.-Canada trade dispute over “ultra-filtered” milk. Almost overnight, a market disappeared. The net result is a million pounds of milk per day in Wisconsin […]
Posted on March 15, 2017 by Christopher M. Seelen
The 2016 bankruptcy statistics tell an interesting story. While the total number of bankruptcy cases filed in 2016 in the Western District of Wisconsin (“WDW”) fell 5.5% to its lowest level in ten years, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy cases actually increased 31% from 2015. Total Filings. There were 4,362 total bankruptcy cases filed in […]
Posted on March 3, 2017 by Jeremy M. Welch
As we indicated on February 16, 2017 the Federal Reserve is looking at interest rate hikes for 2017. At a speech in Chicago today Chairwoman Janet Yellen said it is likely the Federal Reserve will increase the federal funds rate in March, which was most recently increased in December from 0.50% to 0.75%. The stock […]