June 29, 2020
It is with a collective heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our partner and the founder of our firm, Eric Luse, after a ten-year battle with cancer. Over the course of his 40 plus years of legal practice, Eric was a tireless advocate for the community banking industry and a trusted advisor to management teams and boards of directors of community banks across the country. He will forever be associated in the mutual banking industry as the father and patron saint of the mutual holding company structure, which has enabled so many community banks to thrive and prosper. His attitude toward work and life in the face of his own personal health adversity could serve as a role model for all - he never dwelled on his own misfortune and continued to engage, lead and advise as always and with his usual tenacity and passion.
His dedication to the firm and the practice of law was second only to his dedication to his family. Eric is survived by his wife of 43 years, Susan, three children and three grandchildren. He loved his family deeply.
Eric’s greatest legacy will be the firm that he played such a critical role in shaping and developing during the past 27 years. Due to Eric’s vision and leadership, Luse Gorman is the premier community banking law firm in the country today, representing community banks and holding companies from Maine to Florida, east coast to west coast, Alaska and Hawaii and the Mid-West in between. We work with more than 350 financial institutions and their holding companies, public and private, mutual and stock, and no firm knows better than we do on a real-time basis the issues facing community banks. Eric’s guiding philosophy for our firm was for us to be not just a legal advisor to, but to become a strategic and valued partner with, our clients. We never will lose sight of the high standards Eric set for the firm – provide quality and timely service; understand the unique needs of each client; provide practical and understandable advice; and always place the interests of the client first. These standards have enabled our success and will continue to guide our performance in years to come.
We thank Eric for his vision and service and we will forever miss him.
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June 9, 2020
To our clients and friends:
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) recently issued a final rule clarifying that when a national bank or federal savings association transfers a loan, the interest rate permissible before the transfer continues to be permissible after transfer. The final rule applies to national banks and federal savings associations and is effective on August 3, 2020. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation previously issued a substantively similar proposed rule as to state banks and is likely to follow the OCC in issuing the rule in final.
Our Alert is available here.
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June 2, 2020
On May 31, 2020, West End Bank, S.B., Richmond, Indiana, and its parent company, West End Indiana Bancshares, Inc., completed a purchase and assumption transaction with Three Rivers Federal Credit Union ("3Rivers"), Fort Wayne, Indiana, in which 3Rivers has acquired the assets and assumed the liabilities of West End Bank in an all-cash transaction. It is estimated that each West End Indiana Bancshares stockholder will receive between $35.00 and $37.00 per share of West End Indiana Bancshares common stock owned by such stockholder following the merger of West End Bank into West End Indiana Bancshares and the dissolution of West End Indiana Bancshares.
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May 29, 2020
To our clients and friends:
On May 23, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA") issued two interim final rules (the “Interim Final Rules”) related to the forgiveness of loans originated under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”). The first Interim Final Rule provides the requirements for loan forgiveness, which includes instructions for properly completing the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application for borrowers. The second Interim Final Rule describes the SBA’s procedures for reviewing PPP loan and forgiveness applications.
Our Alert summarizes both sets of Interim Final Rules, which are effective immediately. Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would change key PPP loan forgiveness provisions. The Senate has put forth a similar bill, but it has not yet passed. As a result, it is very likely that the Interim Final Rules will be further modified. We are closely monitoring these developments and will provide updates as appropriate.
Our Alert is available here.
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May 15, 2020
To our clients and friends:
On May 13, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA"), in consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, updated their Frequently Asked Questions Memorandum (the “FAQ”) concerning the Paycheck Protection Program (the "PPP"). Most significantly, the FAQ: (1) clarifies that a safe harbor is provided regarding the SBA’s review of borrower necessity certifications of PPP loan requests of $2.0 million or less; and (2) notes that the PPP amnesty provision that would allow borrowers to repay their PPP loans in full without penalty upon the determination that their necessity certifications are no longer valid was extended to May 18, 2020.
Our Alert is available here.
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