Accredited debt relief reviews

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted amendments to the net worth standard for accredited investors set forth in Rules 215 and 501 under the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act). Section 413(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) requires the SEC to revise the definition of “accredited investor” in its rules under the Securities Act to exclude the value of a natural person’s primary residence when determining whether that person has a net worth in excess of $1 million. The change to the net worth standard was effective upon the enactment of Dodd-Frank on July 21, 2010, but the SEC was required to amend its Securities Act rules to conform to the new standard. The SEC’s rule amendments will be effective on February 27, 2012.Revised Net Worth StandardThe SEC’s accredited investor definitions set forth in Securities Act Rules 215 and 501 include any person who comes within (or who the issuer … [Read more...] about SEC Adopts Revised Net Worth Standard for Accredited Investors

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (or JOBS) Act. The JOBS Act includes a number of dramatic changes to the federal securities laws. It represents the most significant relaxation of initial public offering and public company reporting requirements to be enacted in many years. It also includes revisions intended to facilitate, and reduce the expense of, access to capital through unregistered offerings of securities. A number of these changes may have particular importance for community banks and their holding companies, as those institutions continue to face heightened needs for capital and can benefit significantly from any easing of access to capital raising opportunities.This alert continues our discussion of those provisions of the JOBS Act that have particular relevance to community banks. Our last alert dealt specifically with the JOBS Act's impacts on registration and de-registration thresholds under the Securities Exchange Act … [Read more...] about Washington Delivers Relief to Community Bank Capital Raising Initiatives – Part II

On June 16, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) published its proposed regulations (the “Proposed Rule”) regarding Borrower Defenses to Repayment (DTR) and related matters. The Proposed Rule is available here. The Proposed Rule establishes a 45-day notice and comment period, with comments due on or before August 1, 2016. Following the comment period, the Department must publish its final regulations by November 1, 2016, in order to take effect on July 1, 2017. This alert provides a high-level summary of the various components of the Proposed Rule, which remains subject to our continued review.Standards for DTR Claims, Time Period of Availability, and Procedural FrameworkThe Proposed Rule permits both individual and group discharges of Federal Direct Loans received by students under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA), with proposed discharge grounds and their respective periods of availability as follows:The student obtained a … [Read more...] about U.S. Department of Education Issues Proposed Borrower Relief Regulations

IntroductionThe passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Bill”) represents the most ambitious and thorough regulatory reform of the laws governing the financial industry since the Great Depression. The Bill touches every domestic financial entity and affects most foreign financial entities. While most of the Bill’s provisions are aimed at large, complex financial institutions, smaller institutions are affected by many of the regulatory changes as well. As many of the Bill’s provisions give a basic structure of reform and leave the regulators to fill in the details over the next 6 to 18 months, the process of implementing the Bill’s provisions promises to be a dynamic one. Consequently, the final shape and practical impact of the Bill are still years from being understood.The following is an overview of the Bill as passed by Congress. In the coming weeks, we plan to focus on specific areas of legislation that are of … [Read more...] about Dodd-Frank Bill Reshapes Businesses

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or “JOBS,” Act (H.R. 3606), which is designed to streamline or eliminate the regulatory and legal barriers many emerging companies currently face when attempting to raise capital. The JOBS Act contains multiple amendments to the federal securities laws that could have significant effects on small businesses, broker-dealers, private investment funds, banks and bank holding companies, and existing public companies. This alert explains the principal provisions of the JOBS Act and various practical ramifications for our clients.I. IPO On-Ramp for Emerging Companies To begin with, Title I of the JOBS Act seeks to improve access to capital for certain newly-registered public companies, known as “emerging growth companies” or “EGCs,” by easing them into SEC reporting requirements. An EGC is defined as a company that had total annual gross revenues of less than $1 billion … [Read more...] about Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act Signed Into Law