NY State Senate Bill S8761

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
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Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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Actions

view actions (9)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jul 23, 2020	ordered to third reading rules cal.305 substituted for a7513a referred to ways and means delivered to assembly passed senate
Jul 22, 2020	ordered to third reading cal.959
Jul 21, 2020	reported and committed to rules
Jul 14, 2020	committee discharged and committed to banks referred to rules

Votes

view votes

Jul 23, 2020 - floor Vote

S8761

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Jul 22, 2020 - Rules committee Vote

S8761

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Jul 21, 2020 - Banks committee Vote

S8761

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Co-Sponsors

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7513
Law Section:: Banking Law
Laws Affected:: Add §6-o, Bank L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S671, A1935

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to modifying delinquent mortgage loans and single point of contact.

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S8761

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the banking law, in relation to modifying delinquent
home loans and single point of contact

 
PURPOSE:

The bill requires creditors to provide a single point of contact to
borrowers in the foreclosure process who will be responsible for provid-
ing accurate account and other information related to the foreclosure
process and loss mitigation efforts. The bill requires creditors to
provide a dedicated electronic mail address, facsimile number and mail-
ing address for borrowers to submit information requested as part of a
loan modification, short sale or other loss mitigation option.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill adds § 6-o to the banking law. Subdivision one

requires the lender to provide a borrower who is delinquent on his or
her home loan sixty day or more and chooses to pursue a loan modifica-
tion or other foreclosure prevention alternative, a single point of
contact for the borrower to reach the lender regarding pursuing a loan
modification.The borrower shall make his or her request for the contact
information in writing or by electronic communication and once received,
the lender is required to provide the contact information to the borrow-
er within ten days. The lender is also required to notify the borrower
if the contact information provided to the borrower changes within five
days.This subdivision also provides that the duties imposed on the lend-
er by this section may be also be performed by a mortgage servicer
acting on behalf of the lender.

Subdivision two requires that the single point of contact to be respon-
sible for the following:

A. Communicating the options available to the borrower for modifying his
or her delinquent home loan.

B. Assisting the borrower with identifying documents necessary for
pursuing a loan modification.

C. Providing the borrower accurate information regarding the status of
his or her loan modification application should the borrower choose to
apply for a modification.

Subdivision three requires that the single point of contact remain
assigned to the borrower's account until the lender determines all loss
modification options have been exhausted or the borrower's account
becomes current. Subdivision four provides that "home loan" shall have
the same definition as paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section six-1
of this article.

Section two of the bill provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:


As our state and our nation slowly recover from the nation's financial
crisis, many homeowners are still trying to recover from the financial
impact of the crisis.Massive foreclosures have crippled our economy and
have made the recovery from the crisis very slow.While the economy
strengthens and employment grows, many citizens are trying to rebuild
their lives. One way many homeowners have tried to rebuild their lives
is to work to save the largest asset many of them own: their home. As
the bottom dropped out of the economy, many citizens lost their jobs and
fell behind on their mortgages. Many people who had owned their homes
for years or even decades found themselves unable to keep up with their
payments even though they may have never missed a payment before the
crisis.

As the job market has strengthened and people returned to work, homeown-
ers have reached out to their mortgage servicers to determine if there
are any federal, state, or investor foreclosure mitigation program
available to them. Many homeowners were told of these programs and were
encouraged to apply. Many homeowners tried to apply for these mitigation
programs only to find out that the programs were nearly impossible to
gain approval.

On February 9, 2012, the U.S. Attorney General announced that the feder-
al government and 49 states had reached a settlement agreement with the
nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage servicing,
foreclosure, and bankruptcy abuses (the "National Mortgage Settle-
ment").The National Mortgage Settlement is the largest consumer finan-
cial protection settlement in United States history. The National Mort-
gage Settlement was made after state and federal investigations into
mortgage foreclosure activities revealed extensive mortgage servicing
misconduct, including, but not limited to, deceptive practices in the
loan modification process such as telling borrowers that a loan modifi-
cation was imminent while simultaneously foreclosing, repeatedly asking
for the same documents, denying a modification and not informing the
borrowers, and giving the borrower incorrect information regarding their
modification application.

This bill will require a lender to appoint to the borrower one contact
person who will be responsible for all communications with the borrower
and who will be responsible for the entire process. Having one person
responsible will make it less likely that a borrower who is trying to
save his or her home will fall victim to the bureaucracy of the fore-
close mitigation process and of the very large mortgage servicers.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019 - S.2105 / A.7513 - Passed Senate / Referred to Banks

2017-2018: - S.3216 - Referred to Banks

2015-2016: - S.3768 - Referred to Banks 2014: S.6243 - Referred to Banks

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixty days after becoming law and shall apply to home loans enter into
after the effective date.

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf


                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8761

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              July 14, 2020
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the banking law, in  relation  to  modifying  delinquent
  home loans and single point of contact

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The banking law is amended by adding a new section  6-o  to
read as follows:
  § 6-O. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR MODIFYING DELINQUENT HOME LOANS. 1.
A  LENDER  SHALL  PROVIDE TO A BORROWER WHO IS SIXTY OR MORE DAYS DELIN-
QUENT ON HIS OR HER HOME LOAN WITH SUCH LENDER AND WHO CHOOSES TO PURSUE
A LOAN MODIFICATION  OR  OTHER  FORECLOSURE  PREVENTION  ALTERNATIVE,  A
SINGLE  POINT  OF CONTACT FOR THE BORROWER TO REACH THE LENDER REGARDING
PURSUING A LOAN MODIFICATION. THE BORROWER SHALL MAKE HIS OR HER REQUEST
FOR SUCH CONTACT INFORMATION IN WRITING OR BY  ELECTRONIC  COMMUNICATION
TO  HIS OR HER LENDER AND SUCH LENDER SHALL PROVIDE THE CONTACT INFORMA-
TION REQUIRED HEREIN WITHIN TEN BUSINESS DAYS OF RECEIVING SUCH  BORROW-
ER'S  REQUEST.  IF  AT  ANY TIME THE CONTACT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE
BORROWER CHANGES, A NOTIFICATION OF SUCH CHANGE SHALL BE PROVIDED BY THE
LENDER TO THE BORROWER WITHIN FIVE BUSINESS DAYS  OF  SUCH  CHANGE.  THE
DUTIES  IMPOSED  ON  A LENDER BY THIS SECTION MAY ALSO BE PERFORMED BY A
MORTGAGE SERVICER ACTING ON BEHALF OF SUCH LENDER.
  2. THE SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT REQUIRED BY THIS ACT SHALL BE RESPONSI-
BLE FOR THE FOLLOWING:
  (A) COMMUNICATING INFORMATION REGARDING OPTIONS THE BORROWER MAY  HAVE
FOR MODIFYING HIS OR HER DELINQUENT HOME LOAN;
  (B)  ASSISTING  THE  BORROWER WITH IDENTIFYING DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR
PURSUING A LOAN MODIFICATION; AND
  (C) PROVIDING ACCURATE INFORMATION REGARDING THE STATUS OF  A  BORROW-
ER'S  LOAN MODIFICATION APPLICATION SHOULD SUCH BORROWER CHOOSE TO APPLY
FOR A MODIFICATION.
  3. THE SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION  SHALL  REMAIN
ASSIGNED  TO THE BORROWER'S ACCOUNT UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE LENDER DETER-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD05333-06-0

S. 8761                             2

MINES THAT ALL LOSS MODIFICATION OPTIONS HAVE BEEN  EXHAUSTED  OR  UNTIL
THE BORROWER'S ACCOUNT BECOMES CURRENT.
  4.  FOR  THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "HOME LOAN" SHALL HAVE THE SAME
MEANING AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (E) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION  SIX-L
OF THIS ARTICLE.
  §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law and shall apply to home loans entered into on or after
such effective date.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S8761

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

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Votes

Jul 23, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jul 23, 2020

Jul 22, 2020 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jul 22, 2020

Jul 21, 2020 - Banks committee Vote

Banks Committee Vote: Jul 21, 2020

Co-Sponsors

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Details

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S8761

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Sponsored By

James Sanders Jr.

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

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Votes

Jul 23, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jul 23, 2020

Jul 22, 2020 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jul 22, 2020

Jul 21, 2020 - Banks committee Vote

Banks Committee Vote: Jul 21, 2020

Co-Sponsors

John C. Liu

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Details

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S8761 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments