Realtors Sue Hildreth
The NH Association of Realtors has sued State Bank Commissioner Peter Hildreth in Merrimack County Superior Court. In December the Commissioner ruled that a for-sale-by-owner listing service run by ISoldMyHouse.com was not a real estate brokerage activity and did not need to be licensed by the NH Real Estate Commission. ISoldMyHouse.com is a division of East-West Mortgage Company, a non-bank mortgage company licensed by the Banking Department. At issue is interpretation of state statute granting the Commissioner sole jurisdiction over the entities his Department regulates. The Realtors' lawyer says they sued to preserve their right to challenge Hildreth's ruling, but the Commissioner has pointed out that his ruling opened a 10 day comment period for filing information or alternative opinions that the Realtors did not take advantage of. One of the most curious twists of this story is the involvement of the Attorney General's Office. In December the AG issued an unsolicited opinion that the Banking Department should defer to the Real Estate Commission in the matter. The Commissioner disagreed with the opinion, and now that he's been sued by the Realtors, the Attorney General must defend him.
CRA Reform Proposed
The FDIC and the OCC this week issued for comment another proposal for reforming the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This proposal would increase the category of banks eligible for streamlined CRA exams from $250 million to $1 billion. It would also add a new community development test for banks in the $250 million to $1 billion range. This new test would consider a bank's community development services, lending and investments. It would also modify the definition of "community development" to include affordable housing programs, products and services in rural areas and designated disaster zones. The proposal should be published in the Federal Register soon, which will open a 60 day window for filing comments on the plan. Banks that would like to see the eligibility guidelines for streamlined exams expanded really should file a comment letter. The OTS has already increased to $1 billion the size of banks it examines using the streamlined format and the Federal Reserve is considering the idea.
Greasing the Skids?
Rumblings from Washington indicate that, while it hasn't been mentioned as a top priority issue for 2005, Congress may take a run this year at federal deposit insurance reform. Apparently, representatives from relevant House and Senate committees have met to look for items they agree on, possibly with the idea of avoiding controversial stuff and passing a stripped down bill. Word is that FDIC Reform Lite would merge the BIF and SAIF funds but would not increase the current $100,000 deposit insurance limit or extend greater coverage to retirement accounts.
Time For A Breather
The NH legislature will take its annual mid-Winter break next week. There will be no public hearings or sessions scheduled. The past weeks have been very busy with committee and floor activity. The House has defeated several proposals we were hoping they would put an end to, including HB 178, which would have required all parties to a mortgage to have copies of all documents to review 3 days prior to closing. (A nice concept, but not possible in today's "get it to me yesterday" world.) For more details, sign on to our web site and navigate to the Legislative Bulletin page.
Call or e-mail us if you'd like a copy of the memo recounting our recent pow-wow with federal regulators about BSA examination standards.
New Hampshire Bankers Association 122 North Main Street P.O. Box 2586 Concord, New Hampshire 03302-2586 For more information on above items: call (603) 224-5373, fax (603) 224-3381 or E-Mail jlittle@nhbankers.com. |
Current Issue
April 20, 2005
Past Issues
April 7, 2005
March 24, 2005
February 25, 2005
February 17, 2005
February 3, 2005
January 21, 2005
January 13, 2005
December 23, 2004
December 9, 2004
December 2, 2004
November 18, 2004 |
|
