As expected, the Governor signed SB 16 (as amended by House Amendment #8) into law on Friday. Among other things, the bill expedites foreclosures of abandoned property, provides a “safe harbor” against lawsuits when lenders and servicers enter abandoned properties to preserve and maintain them, and amends the Conveyances Act to override the last year's…

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council has issued proposed guidance (pdf) intended to help financial institutions understand potential consumer compliance, legal, reputational and operational risks associated with the use of social media. Although it does not impose new requirements, the guidance does include regulator expectations for managing social media risks.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners has unanimously approved an ordinance creating the Cook County Land Bank Authority as a way to help government deal with the growing number of vacant properties across the county. According to the Urban Land Institute, there are more than 200,000 vacant units and approximately 85,000 pending foreclosure cases in…

The IDFPR's Division of Banking has issued an interpretive letter to ensure that state banks may continue to utilize derivatives transactions to mitigate credit risk. Section 611 of the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits state chartered banks from engaging in derivatives transactions after January 21, 2013 unless such transactions are authorized by the State where a bank is…

The CFPB has released a Small Entity Compliance Guide along with an online presentation on its new rule governing international electronic money transfers initiated by consumers. Institutions that consistently send 100 or fewer remittance transfers per year will be exempt from the rule, while institutions covered by the rule will be required to provide both…