Marx Sterbcow of the Sterbcow Law Group will speak at the 2019 Tennessee Land Title Association’s 75th Annual Meeting and Convention on April 4, 2019 at The Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, Virgina. The presentation is titled “The Ethics of Referral Relationships Under RESPA Section 8.”
For more information about The TNLTA’s 75th Annual Conference from April 3-5, 2019 please click here: TNLTA.
Marx Sterbcow with the Sterbcow Law Group’s RESPA Law Resource Center has been invited to speak at the Real Estate Settlement Providers Organization’s “RESPRO” 26th Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 27, 2019 at 8:45 AM at the Ritz Carlton Hotel’s Carrollton Ballroom. The presentation “Whither the CFPB: State Unfair Deceptive Abusive Acts Practices, Regulatory and Private Sector Compliance Issues, Activities and Requirements” will review the most recent federal and state mortgage, title insurance, and real estate brokerage regulatory actions.” The session will discuss how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and various state mortgage and title insurance regulatory agencies are interpreting UDAAP/RESPA. The session will also discuss what compliance expectations the CFPB’s Enforcement division will have when a company is under investigation and the general outlook of what is going on or not going on at the CFPB. The presentation will hit on issues involving private sector mortgage lending compliance involving Affiliated Business Arrangements and those how those expectations extend to class action mitigation risks.
Charles “Chuck” Cain from Cincinnati, Ohio (Executive Vice President Agency at WFG and Of Counsel to the Sterbcow Law Group) and Francis “Trip” Riley from Princeton, New Jersey (Partner with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, LLP) will co-present with Mr. Sterbcow in this session.
The Sterbcow Law Group is pleased to announce that Marx Sterbcow was named as a 2019 Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. This is the fifth straight year Marx has been named in the fields of Consumer Law, Banking, and Real Estate. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practices areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations to help select the top five percent of outstanding attorneys on a state by state basis. The Super Lawyers directory is published Thomson Reuters, a leading global source for business news and information.
Marx Sterbcow of the Sterbcow Law Group has been invited to speak at the American Land Title Association’s “ALTA Large Agent Conference at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. ALTA’s Large Agent Conference is January 13-15, 2019.
The presentation “RESPA UPDATES” will discuss a variety of topics from the latest on RESPA Enforcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “CFPB” to how the new political landscape in Washington, D.C. may put the CFPB’s current enforcement ideology in the spotlight. The presentation will also provide the latest RESPA Best Practices tips involving: advertising services agreements & marketing agreements, co-branded website advertising, advertising & marketing practices, title agency affiliated business arrangements, title joint ventures, office leases, and the challenges involved with many lead generation programs. Craig Haskins, the Chief Operating Officer, of Knight Barry Title, Inc. headquartered in Wisconsin will moderate the RESPA UPDATES session.
The Louisiana Land Title Association (LLTA) announced that Marx Sterbcow of the Sterbcow Law Group has been named the President of the association for the 2017-2019 calendar years. The LLTA was formed in 1955 to protect the land title industry in Louisiana and currently has close to 500 active members. The LLTA also appointed Leslie Bolner with Seale & Ross, PLC, as its President-Elect, and Ronald Ward with Landmark Title Group as its Vice President. John McCarthy, with First American Land Title Insurance Co., has assumed the role as Immediate Past President of the LLTA.
“It is an honor and a privilege to serve the title insurance industry throughout Louisiana and I look forward to helping the Louisiana Land Title Association continue its mission of ensuring that title agents, small and large, have a voice. I look forward to continuing the progress that this trade association has made over the 63 years.”
Marx Sterbcow, the Managing Attorney for the Sterbcow Law Group LLC, has been invited to speak at the 2018 RESPRO 25th Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The session titled “CFPB Enforcement and Technology Monitoring Expectations for Affiliated Business Arrangements” is scheduled for 9:00-10:00 AM on April 11, 2018. This presentation will discusses how a new technology oversight compliance software reporting tool helps RESPA governed Affiliated Businesses Arrangements “AfBA” stay compliant based on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Meridian Title Consent Order. The session co-presented with Francis “Trip” Riley, Partner at Saul Ewing, and will be moderated by Charles “Chuck” Cain, EVP WFG National Title Insurance Company and Of Counsel to the Sterbcow Law Group. Marx Sterbcow and Trip Riley are two members of the Meridian Title legal team who were involved in representing Meridian Title in connection with the CFPB Consent Order.
The presentation will provide critical information which all affiliated businesses should be aware of as it pertains to the monitoring of AfBA disclosure forms in real time. In addition we will discuss how the use of this new technology also adds operational value to any companies operational compliance and business development needs. We will explain how the CFPB Enforcement division views this type of technology monitoring as a critical piece for all settlement service companies, especially those in the title industry, as a new expectation for medium to large-sized companies to adopt. We will provide an in-depth look into how a growing number of title agencies across the United States are already utilizing this title production overlay software compliance and business intelligence technology, and how this technology will help companies stay RESPA compliant, and what the future holds for these types of applications as they enter the marketplace.
To Register for the 25th Annual RESPRO Conference click here
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray, announced today in an email to CFPB employees that he will be stepping down as the Director at the end of November. It is widely expected that Richard Cordray will run for Governor of Ohio but he did not address his future in the email he sent to his employees.
Who will replace Richard Cordray is a huge question because of President Donald Trump will likely face a hostile audience by Democrats and some Republicans in getting a new Director appointed and confirmed. If the Trump Administration pushes someone who wants to gut the CFPB it could haunt the Republicans politically because the agency is highly popular with consumers. The process with likely take several months to appoint and confirm a new CFPB Director although the Trump Administration could pick an Interim Director in accordance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA). The Interim Director would be in charge of the CFPB until a potential nominee was confirmed by the Senate. The FVRA process is not new to the CFPB because prior to Richard Cordray’s confirmation the CFPB was overseen by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner until Cordray’s confirmation.
The CFPB under Director Richard Cordray’s leadership over $12 billion in relief was recovered for nearly 30 million consumers. His departure could likely spell the end of his “Regulation by Enforcement” and usher in a period of more written guidance to the industry. However, the “Regulation by Enforcement” agenda has recently been minimized due to a smaller number of enforcement personnel and fewer resources given to that division while he led the CFPB.
Marx Sterbcow of the Sterbcow Law Group will present at the Escrow Institute of California’s 70th Anniversary Conference at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, California on May 5, 2017. The Escrow Institute of California “EIC” Annual Conference is May 4-6, 2017.
The session “Understanding CFPB Enforcement under Unfair Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP)” is from 10:15 – 11:45 AM. Mr. Sterbcow is co-presenting with Matthew Davis with the Davis & Davis Law Group.
Marx Sterbcow, Managing Attorney, of the Sterbcow Law Group will present in two sessions at the 2017 Real Estate Service Providers Council “RESPRO” Annual Conference at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2017. The RESPRO Conference is from April 18-20, 2017.
The first session “Unfair Deceptive Abusive Acts Practices UDAAP: The Cloud Still Hangs Low” is from 1:30 PM– 2:30 PM in the DaVinci 3 Ballroom. Mr. Sterbcow is co-presenting with Francis (Trip) Riley with Saul Ewing. The presentation will focus on how UDAPP will continue to effect CFPB’s actions on settlement service providers and how RESPA regulated Affiliated Business Arrangements (AfBAs) need to be cognizant of their marketing and advertising efforts. We will address cases of interest and suggest tips that every company should incorporate.
The second session “RESPA: Stretching the Envelope on Prohibited Referrals” is from 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM in the DaVinci 3 Ballroom. Mr. Sterbcow is co-presenting with Stan Gordon with Gordon & Associates and Francis (Trip) Riley with Saul Ewing. The presentation will focus on the basic parameters of what is prohibited referral activity have expanded under CFPB which has resulted in a chilling effect on the financial settlement service industry. The ambiguity in RESPA on defining a referral and the perceived risks in marketing activities in various circumstances will be discussed. The presentation will provide some clarifications on when an endorsement of a service provider becomes a prohibited referral. The session will also address whether it is a violation of Section 8 for a nationwide real estate brokerage group to promote a service provider throughout its owned or affiliated companies to their management and sales agents. How considerations under PHH and RESPA exception Section 8(c)(2) need to be considered and is the exception absolute as implied by the current ruling.
The Legal Description and Dodd Frank Update have teamed up again to provide their 5th annual Regulatory Outlook Webinar on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 (2:00 – 3:30 P.M. EST) educating mortgage, title and settlement services professionals on the compliance trends and issues to expect in the New Year. The yearly webinar series has quickly become one of the most important educational sessions each year to find out what in store for the State of the Settlement Service Industry in the coming year.
This webinar features instructors Francis “Trip” Riley of Saul Ewing, Loretta Salzano of Franzén and Salzano, and Marx Sterbcow of the Sterbcow Law Group. These nationally-recognized attorneys will join moderator Danielle Kaiser of NATIC in a discussion of the pressing political, regulatory and compliance issues to watch in 2017 and how to prepare your business.
Instruction will include:
