Lane Powell PC - Finance Law

Government-guaranteed loans have long assisted lenders by bolstering private credit structures where lenders may otherwise hesitate to extend credit. For instance, in 2011 the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural…more

What may be surprising to many companies is that the obligation to preserve evidence arises long before a lawsuit is filed, and the costs for failing to do so can be staggering. In egregious cases, courts have entered judgment…more

Now consider the duties imposed by state and federal law on parties to a lawsuit. For example, a duty to preserve arises when litigation becomes foreseeable and requires both suspension of current policies that might alter or…more

When the collateral has environmental contamination, the lender is faced with a take-it-or-leave-it dilemma, either of which poses significant financial risk. Taking a property in foreclosure may result in the lender bearing…more

Your bank has been rated “less than satisfactory” (or worse). The bank has agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with its primary regulator, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), or a Consent Order has…more

The Oregon Legislature approved Senate Bill 1552 on March 5, 2012, which will require mortgage lenders to meet new requirements to effectuate a non-judicial foreclosure, including mandatory mediation. Additionally, it will end…more

Receiverships have become increasingly popular tools for developing and implementing cost-effective and expeditious workout strategies for troubled loans. Washington’s Receivership Act, one of the best in the country, can be an…more

Community banks face new hurdles each day. One big new skyscraper of a hurdle, the Dodd Frank Act, has over 3,900 pages of proposed and final rules which, laid end-to-end, would stand nearly three times the height of the Empire…more

Property that is subject to being acquired by eminent domain is often encumbered by one or more loans. Lenders are required to be joined as parties in condemnation actions under Washington law. The lender has the right to obtain…more

Directors and officers are the most likely FDIC targets for recovery claims since, in many cases, they are covered by “D&O” insurance. Typically, the FDIC asserts claims for gross negligence, negligence and breach of fiduciary…more

The past three years have been challenging for commercial lenders, particularly small community banks. Massive losses, occasioned by the collapse of the real estate markets for both commercial and residential properties, have…more

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has signed into law a series of changes to the state Receivership Act that will make it easier (and possibly cheaper) for creditors to utilize the Receivership Act as a tool to resolve…more

Some question the future of community banks, but their local role remains important Community banks in the Pacific Northwest have spent the past two years working through daunting challenges, from extraordinary regulatory…more

On November 4, the Washington Supreme Court issued a decision holding that federal banking privacy rules will apply to prevent release of documents otherwise disclosable under the Washington Public Records Act ("PRA"). In…more

Less than a week after President Obama signed Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the U.S. Securities and Exhange Commission began soliciting comments from the public on one of the bill's more controversial topics: Whether…more