The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced that it is rescinding seven policy statements that were issued last year to assist financial institutions during the height of the pandemic. Issued between March 26 and June 3, 2020, the policy statements provided some flexibility in complying with certain regulatory filings and consumer finance laws.
Brian D. Pannell, DocMagic’s Chief eServices Executive, examines some of the key changes the mortgage industry has seen over the last year.
DocMagic’s Chief eServices Executive Brian D. Pannell will be leading a webinar for the Electronic Signature and Records Association (ESRA) this Thursday, Dec. 3, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.
(Update: On Nov. 5, Michigan enacted HB6297, which confirms the validity of remote notarizations performed between April 30, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021, and HB6296, which requires registers of deeds and financial institutions to accept electronic documents notarized during that same period. The state later extended the deadline for both laws to July 1, 2021.)
When the pandemic hit in March, Michigan already had a law on the books that allowed remote online notarization (RON) closings. But the state took it a step further when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) declared a state of emergency and issued a series of executive orders, including one allowing the use of remote ink-signed notarization (RIN), a lower-tech alternative to RON.
Homeowners have adapted well to eSignings and remote closings and are very satisfied with their overall closing experience, according to a new national survey of people who bought and refinanced homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At DocMagic’s May 27 webinar, “Road-Tested eClosing Strategies for Today,” Ben Sherman, president of real estate recording services firm Synrgo, shared some surprising facts and numbers about county recorders and electronic closings.
—Update (2/12/2021): RON update: First new remote online notarization law of 2021 passes
The remote online notarization (RON) landscape is still very much in flux. Three states recently passed RON laws and a new survey shows RON usage surged during the pandemic—but a powerful official from one of the country’s biggest states also announced his opposition to any federal law.
Even as demand for remote online notarization (RON) grows, underwriters and settlement agents are hesitant to fully embrace it. They have some good reasons why.
Brian D. Pannell, DocMagic’s Chief eServices Executive, has been named one of the inaugural winners of the Thought Leader Award by the PROGRESS in Lending Association. Only 30 people across the entire mortgage industry received this honor.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, several states issued emergency orders to allow remote notarizations, joining 23 that already had permanent laws allowing remote online notarization (RON). A number of the stopgap measures, however, didn’t actually allow RON; instead they authorized a decidedly lower-tech alternative called remote ink-signed notarization (RIN).