Government Regulations Committee Chair Matt Cahill issued a memo this morning.

Good morning.  As discussed at last Tuesday’s NYSLTA EC meeting, the confusion over mortgage assignments coming out of Signature Bank and Signature Bridge Bank should be coming to an end. 

Tom Glatthaar, Frank Carroll and myself had a meeting with the FDIC and it’s outside counsel.  The FDIC has created a template for mortgage assignments, allonges and lost note affidavits.  The attached template has been slightly revised from the template circulated last week.

For the assignments, there will be one instrument which effectuates an assignment from both the FDIC as receiver for Signature Bank as well as the FDIC as receiver for Signature Bridge Bank, N.A.  It is likely the instruments will be executed by one of three individuals who are each acting pursuant to a limited POA.

The FDIC has recorded the original POA’s in Dallas, so it will not be providing an original at closing.  We will have to order certified copies and submit them for recording with the assignments.  Attached are copies of the recorded POA’s in Dallas. 

As a certified copy of each POA is recorded in a particular county, we should keep track of the recording information so that future assignments in that county can reference the recoding information for the POA.  The POA’s do expire in 2024, so we will need new POA’s at that time.

The form of acknowledgement being used is a modified version of the NY acknowledgement.  As discussed, the FDIC has its reasons for the revisions.  If the clerks notice the revisions, we may need to explain that this is the only form the FDIC is willing to have its employees sign.  I assume the clerks will give the FDIC a wide berth.  

I am advised that the various law firms preparing assignment documents have be advised of this process and that closings involving assignments out of Signature will begin resuming.