By Porter Wright on Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia now permit the use and possession of marijuana to some degree under state law, and public support for legalization is at an all-time high. Despite the growing number of states legalizing marijuana, however, it remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). President … Continue Reading
By Grant Stephenson on Late last year, the FDIC released guidance on brokered deposits in the form of a series of frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs). The guidance is available here: https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2015/fil15002a.pdf The ostensible purpose of the guidance is to collect previously scattered views on various questions related to two primary subjects: what are brokered deposits and how they should be reflected … Continue Reading
By Grant Stephenson on At a time of relative affluence in the farming industry, the FDIC has issued a warning on a need for monitoring agricultural credits. FIL-39-2014 (July 16, 2014) suggests that banking institutions of all sizes should carefully consider a recent, negative projection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While current market conditions are good, the projection … Continue Reading
By Grant Stephenson on Last April, a trade association for bank directors, the American Association of Bank Directors reported the results of a survey designed to measure the impact of concerns about personal liability on the decision of bank board members to resign and by individuals to turn down board seats on banking organizations. One of the key concerns, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Expansion of Banking: What happens when First National Bank is no longer First? Ask any community banker and she will tell you that bank name disputes are on the rise. The Third Federal Circuit Court of Appeals attributes the rise of bank name disputes to “an outgrowth of aggressive and expansionist banking flowing from the … Continue Reading
By Brad Hughes on Last Spring, we discussed on this blog a trifecta of noteworthy lending cases pending before the Ohio Supreme Court. Today, the Court resolved one of them, and in doing so also resolved a certified conflict among Ohio’s appellate districts regarding whether Ohio’s Statute of Frauds bars a party from relying on an oral forbearance agreement … Continue Reading
By Polly Harris on 2013 was an active year for the Banking & Finance Law Report. Our authors covered a wide range of topics — from legislative and regulatory changes to court opinions to financing and bankruptcy matters in the healthcare, agricultural and oil and gas industries. To offer a glimpse into the news and trends of the past … Continue Reading
By Polly Harris on In a decision that will warm the hearts of vendors everywhere, the Court of Appeals for Ohio’s Eighth Appellate District recently upheld the enforceability of personal guaranty language in a credit application. See Wholesale Builders Supply, Inc. v. Green-Source Development, L.L.C., et al., 2013-Ohio-5129. This decision also serves as a reminder to read before signing. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In this hypothetical, we will consider the following circumstances. “Farmer Bob” grows wheat (i.e., crops) “AgBank” has loaned Farmer Bob money secured in part by his wheat “Massive Grain Elevator” wants to purchase Farmer Bob’s wheat Can Massive buy the wheat and not get the shaft from AgBank? It depends. In 1985 Congress passed the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Bankers and financial institution executives should note that the Securities and Exchange Commission has released guidance and other information regarding the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or JOBS Act, that became law a few weeks ago. The JOBS makes significant changes to how banks and other businesses can raise capital. It does this by: … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 380 to 41, has passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act [link to House Bill], in the form previously approved by the Senate last week [link to Senate Amendment]. The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into … Continue Reading
By Mark Snider on For good or for bad, interest rates are currently near all-time lows, including the “applicable federal rate” (“AFR”) which is used to set minimum interest rates for certain gift and estate tax planning techniques. While bankers and financial institution executives routinely consider the implications of such low rates for their institutions, they also should carefully consider … Continue Reading
By Grant Stephenson on In early July, the FDIC issued a report on an important subject to many community bankers: brokered deposits. The report to Congress, dated July 8, 2011, was required under Dodd-Frank and describes its view of the present role of brokered deposits in banking. Critical, of course, is the FDIC’s observation that bank failures are frequently linked to … Continue Reading
By Greg Daugherty on Publicly traded companies may need to act quickly to review, and, if necessary, amend their stock option and stock appreciation right ("SAR") plans in order to preserve tax deductions for compensation in excess of $1 million paid to certain executives. The reason for this review is that the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") and the United … Continue Reading
