22 December 2014 – Consumer Financial Services Watch

Cybersecurity Lessons Learned From the FTC’s Enforcement History

Dec 22 2014

In 2014, cybersecurity and data breach incidents regularly made the headlines, with the reported breaches becoming increasingly large and complex. As in the past, these data breaches have inevitably been followed by a flurry of class actions and government investigations. But amid this flurry of activity, one federal regulator in particular, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC” or “Commission”), has unquestionably been the most prominent and active cybersecurity enforcer.

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Eminent Enabler: Congress Prohibits HUD and Ginnie Mae from Facilitating Local Government Seizure of Mortgage Loans

Dec 22 2014

By: Laurence E. Platt

At least for the next year, Congress has materially impaired the ability of local governments to seize underwater residential mortgage loans through eminent domain by cutting off federal insurance or guarantees to refinance the seized mortgages and then securitize the refinancings. Without this federal “take out” through mortgage insurance provided by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), and guarantees of mortgage-backed securities by the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), local governments will have to find private sources of long-term funding to pay for loans that they attempt to seize.

Archive:22 December 2014