As the coronavirus pandemic cuts deep into Americans’ finances, millions of homeowners throughout the country are struggling to pay — or skipping entirely — their mortgage payments.

If you’re among those worried about making the necessary payments, there are several options you should be aware of, according to Credible CEO Stephen Dash.

“Don’t panic,” Dash told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo during an interview on Thursday. “People likely have options if they’re struggling to make their mortgage repayments.”

More than 4.1 million homeowners are temporarily skipping their mortgage payments, although the number of people needing assistance is beginning to slow, according to a weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

If homeowners do not have a federal loan, Dash advised them to speak with their private loan servicer.

“Oftentimes, they’ll want to work with you rather than put you into forbearance.”

Avoid foreclosure
There are several ways to avoid foreclosure, according to Dash. he suggested that homeowners consider refinancing. On Thursday, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan plunged to 3.15 percent, a historic low.

FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS WILL BE AT THE CHEAPEST LEVEL EVER THIS SCHOOL YEAR

Homeowners can also work on a repayment plan or work through loan modifications, like changing the terms of the loans or reducing monthly payments, he said.

Prepare what happens when you come out of financial hardship
Homeowners need to be prepared for what happens when the financial hardship ends, Dash said. If they chose to skip mortgage payments, for instance, they should speak with their lender about how to repay that money.

There are several options for homeowners to compensate for the missed payments — but they will not be required to pay everything back all at once in what’s known as a “balloon payment,” according to mortgage giant Fannie Mae. Frequently, mortgage lenders will tack on the balance that homeowners did not pay during the forbearance period onto the end of the loan.

Credible is majority-owned by FOX Business’ parent company, Fox Corporation.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/

In response to continued public health precautions regarding in-person gatherings as a result of COVID-19, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) today announced that its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders has been changed to a virtual meeting.

The meeting will be held on June 10, 2020, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. As described in the previously distributed proxy materials, holders of record of FNF’s common stock as of the close of business on April 13, 2020 will be entitled to participate in the annual meeting, including to vote their shares.

The meeting can be accessed via the internet at http://www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FNF2020.

Whether or not shareholders plan to participate in the virtual-only annual meeting, FNF encourages shareholders to submit their votes in advance of the meeting by using one of the methods described in the proxy materials.

Annual Meeting Admission and Guidelines

To be admitted to the virtual annual meeting with the ability to vote, shareholders must enter their unique 16-digit voting control number. This voting control number can be found on the voting instruction form, Notice of Internet Availability, proxy materials or email. Those without a control number may attend as guests of the meeting, but they will not have the option to vote their shares or otherwise participate in the virtual meeting.

Shareholders are encouraged to log into http://www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FNF2020 and check-in to the webcast up to 10 minutes before the meeting’s start time.

All participants in the virtual annual meeting should reference the meeting rules of conduct. These rules will be posted prior to the meeting to the Investor Info section of FNF’s website at https://www.investor.fnf.com.

About Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. FNF is the nation’s largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters – Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York – that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States. More information about FNF can be found at fnf.com.

SOURCE Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) announced today that, due to the continuing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, shareholders and other possible attendees, the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) will be held in a virtual-only format, instead of an in-person event.

Virtual meeting date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Virtual meeting time: 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time
Virtual meeting link: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/FBC2020

Shareholders of record and beneficial holders of common stock as of the close of business on April 3, 2020 will be entitled to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting. Shareholders of record will need to use their 16-digit control number to log into the website to be able to vote during the meeting.  The 16-digit control number can be found on the proxy card, voting instruction form or other notices shareholders received previously.  Registered shareholders can email FBCInvestorRelations@Flagstar.com through Monday, June 1 to obtain their control number.  Those without a control number or not wishing to vote during the meeting may enter the virtual meeting as a guest.  Beneficial owners of shares held in street name will need to follow the instructions provided by the broker, bank or other nominee that holds their shares.

Whether or not shareholders plan to attend the virtual Annual Meeting, the Corporation encourages shareholders to vote and submit their proxies in advance of the Annual Meeting by one of the methods described in the proxy materials.  The proxy card included with the previously distributed proxy materials may continue to be used to vote in connection with the Annual Meeting.  If stockholders have already voted, no additional action is required.

Subsequent to the virtual meeting, the presentation will be available as a live audio webcast on the investor relations section of flagstar.com for 90 days.

Additional detailed instructions on how to access the virtual meeting and ask questions are contained on our Investor Relations website at http://investors.flagstar.com/corporateprofile.

About Flagstar

Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) is a $26.8 billion savings and loan holding company headquartered in Troy, Mich. Flagstar Bank, FSB, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services through 160 branches in Michigan, Indiana, California, Wisconsin and Ohio. It also provides home loans through a wholesale network of brokers and correspondents in all 50 states, as well as 87 retail locations in 28 states, representing the combined retail branches of Flagstar and its Opes Advisors mortgage division. Flagstar is a leading national originator and servicer of mortgage and other consumer loans, handling payments and record keeping for $225 billion of loans representing nearly 1.1 million borrowers. For more information, please visit flagstar.com.

Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to almost 100 countries around the globe with the World Health Organization declaring it a public health emergency. The global impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are already starting to be felt, and will significantly affect the Mortgage Banking market in 2020.

https://www.marketwatch.com/

The U.S. Department of Interior has proposed allowing oil and gas companies to delay royalty payments due to the impacts of the new coronavirus pandemic.

According to the website of the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Interior Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) on May 20 sent a proposed rule titled “ONRR Reporting and Royalty Payment Delay Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

Details of the proposal were not available.

https://www.hartenergy.com/news/us-proposal-would-allow-oil-gas-drillers-delay-royalty-payments-187806

Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth U.S. released a report today on G20 countries’ public finance for energy that we started writing well before we were in a global pandemic. Since then, the stakes for public finance have become a lot higher and this means the results of our research feel even more grim.

The new report looks at the trends in G20 countries’ public finance for energy from 2016 to 2018 — it’s an update of previous research that looked at the same thing for 2013 to 2015. The headline finding is that from 2016 to 2018 G20 countries provided an average of USD $77 billion a year in public finance for fossil fuels. In 2013 to 2015, after our first report, this number was…$76 billion a year. G20 public finance for renewable energy also did not shift the way we need it to: from 2013 to 2015, it was $21 billion a year, and it rose to a still-paltry $24 billion a year for 2016 to 2018.

This means that right after the mostly-rich and powerful G2O countries signed the Paris Agreement with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, they went home and continued with the business-as-usual public finance policies that directly undermined this goal. Now, four years later, we are quickly running out of time to avoid the worst of the climate crisis, and we are faced with a global pandemic that is rapidly deepening other existing inequalities too.

Given the world’s largest commercial banks are financing almost $700 billion a year for oil, gas  and coal, $77 billion in public finance for fossil fuels may not immediately sound like a big deal. But this public finance has an outsized influence and right now it’s locking us into decades of fossil fuel infrastructure we can’t afford. As G20 governments prepare historic levels of public finance in response to COVID-19 we need them to break from the past and make sure this money goes to a just and sustainable recovery instead.

Why public finance matters

There are three key reasons why the way we distribute public money for energy determines whether or not we’ll succeed in building a just world with a liveable climate:

1. There is a lot of it. The G20 export credit agencies (ECAs), development finance institutions (DFIs), and the multilateral development banks (MDBs) we were able to track in our new report are still only a small fraction of all public finance for energy. Worldwide, 693 public banks own assets worth $38 trillion, and there is an overall estimated $73 trillion in public finance assets when central banks, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, and multilateral banks are also included. This also does not include direct subsidies through fiscal and tax measures that governments provide — for the G20 this support for fossil fuels is estimated at $80 billion a year.
2. It drives private investment. When public finance institutions invest in a fossil fuel project, this “crowds-in” private finance as well. This happens in a few different ways. First, most public finance is given at concessional rates via longer rates of return, lower interest rates, and grant components. This means it effectively acts as a subsidy and makes it a more attractive investment for others. Even when not concessional, public finance institutions help de-risk projects for private finance both through their reputation and the fact that their money is government-backed. Considering fossil fuel projects are increasingly challenged by the public for their impacts on Indigenous rights, climate, and local environmental health, this can be make-or-break. Two especially egregious recent examples of public finance institutions helping risky, contested projects go forward are Export Development Canada’s backing of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and US EXIM’s support for Total’s Mozambique LNG.

Outside of bolstering individual projects, public finance institutions also send broader market signals about what kinds of energy their governments are prioritizing. Many public finance institutions have greater capacities and expertise to evaluate projects than their private counterparts. This helps build investor confidence in the projects and sectors they finance and contributes to norms in the broader financial sector.

3. It has the potential to support a just transition: As government-owned entities, public finance institutions should act in the public interest, including by tackling the climate crisis and ensuring a just transition to clean energy. These institutions do not always act in the public interest—as our report plainly shows—but there are much stronger mechanisms to force them to do so than for private finance actors. Public finance institutions could use the below-market rates, higher risk appetite, longer rates of return, and grant capacity they are currently using to boost fossil fuels to spur the creation of a fairer green economy instead. This is something many people, organizations, and coalitions mobilizing for Green New Deal, Just Transition, and Just Recovery initiatives are working hard to make governments leverage. But, public finance institutions will be unable to play this role they are uniquely suited to if billions of their capital continues to flow to fossil fuels every year.

The fight for a Just Recovery

The stakes for public finance have become a lot higher in the past few months. With the health and livelihoods of billions at immediate risk from COVID-19, governments around the world are preparing public spending packages of a magnitude they previously deemed unthinkable. The fossil fuel sector and their proponents have been quick to opportunistically respond to this moment with requests for massive bailouts, new subsidies, regulatory rollbacks, and the postponement of climate measures. The Minister of Energy in Alberta, Canada has even gone as far as to call it a “great time” to build pipelines because protests to stop them cannot happen.

In some jurisdictions the fossil fuel industry is already winning many of their demands. The CARES Act in the United States could provide up to $471 billion to help fossil fuel companies pay off their debts. Public outcry likely helped lessen the magnitude of fossil fuel bailouts initially proposed in Canada, but early support in response to COVID-19 included a USD $5.3 billion investment and loan guarantee in Keystone XL pipeline from the Government of Alberta, USD $1.9 billion in aid for abandoned well clean up and methane leaks without fixing the regulatory gaps that allow polluters to shirk these responsibilities, a multi-billion credit facility for small and medium oil and gas producers through Export Development Canada (EDC), and other public finance programs oil and gas producers are eligible for through EDC and the Canadian Development Investment Corporation.

But outside of fossil fuel industry lobby groups, the overwhelming call from civil society has been for governments to support a transition from fossil fuels that protects workers, communities, and the climate in order to build a more just and resilient future instead..

These efforts have highlighted the need for wealthy government responses to take international equity into account; they must ensure that debt-free public finance and debt forgiveness are extended to low income countries and communities to support a Just Recovery to this crisis. In the briefing Resilient Societies or Fossil Fuel Bailouts, OCI detailed how governments can address the oil and gas sector in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis in ways that leave us more resilient — including through public finance measures like ending fossil fuel support, financing of Green New Deal packages, support for worker protections, and bringing the fossil fuel industry into public ownership with the explicit goal of a just and managed phase-out of production.

Just Recovery organizing is building off of and coalescing with what was already a red-hot movement to cut off new finance for fossil fuels — public and private alike — before the pandemic. Some governments and public finance institutions are responding to COVID-19 in ways that step in the direction they’re pushing. Spain has (alongside other promising measures from a wealth tax to an end to any new licenses for oil and gas) mandated their State and public institutions divest from any holdings in companies whose activities include the extraction, refining and processing of fossil fuels. The New Zealand Climate Change Commission submitted recommendations for recovery that called for stimulus investments for recovery to avoid high-emissions assets and infrastructure and to invest in education and retraining to prepare workers for low-carbon jobs. Among other measures, the European Investment Bank has established a $27 billion guarantee fund to support the EU’s wider stimulus efforts, and $5.7 billion for recovery outside of the EU with the Bank’s president saying these measures will support climate goals.

We have a long way to go until these measures add up to something resembling the Just Recovery we need for an equitable, liveable, and resilient future. Fossil fuel CEOs and their politician and billionaire friends are going to do their best to profit from this moment instead. But from massive coalitions to creative socially-distanced rallies to radical mutual aid work, the fight for a Just Recovery is at least gaining power fast.

https://foe.org/why-77-billion-a-year-in-public-finance-for-oil-gas-and-coal-is-even-worse-than-it-sounds/

Ed has already written about the riots in Minneapolis last night. However, there’s another angle on this which seems to be making the rounds at MSNBC. Here’s Chris Hayes arguing on this show last night that the police treatment of right-wing protesters has been vastly different from the response to protests over the death of George Floyd.

Read More

Unlicensed insurance agent Ai Ling Lee, also known as Linda Lee, 60, of Hacienda Heights, was arrested on nine felony counts of grand theft after allegedly stealing approximately half a million dollars in clients’ insurance premium payments and failing to place adequate coverage for her clients’ small businesses.

An investigation by the Department of Insurance found Lee, as owner/operator of Jubilee Insurance Services, allegedly acted as an insurance agent to steal half a million dollars in premium payments even though she was not properly licensed by the department.

“Ms. Lee’s alleged theft left her clients’ businesses uninsured, exposing them to significant financial risks,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “My department is dedicated to investigating and shutting down unscrupulous agents who abuse the trust of unsuspecting clients.”

Lee accepted premium payments from her clients to place liability, property or workers’ compensation insurance coverage for their small businesses. Lee failed to place insurance coverage or allowed the coverage to lapse for nonpayment leaving her clients’ small businesses, including restaurants, construction companies and biochemical companies at risk.

In order to inflate premium payments and hide her alleged embezzlement, Lee altered declaration pages for several clients. The premium payments collected by Lee were either not remitted to insurance carriers or only partially paid. Lee also allegedly forged clients’ signatures on finance agreements in order to finance some of the insurance premiums without her clients’ knowledge or consent.

Lee was arrested on Friday, May 22, 2020, and is scheduled to appear in court on September 30, 2020. This case is being prosecuted by the White Collar Crime Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The Department of Insurance issued a Cease and Desist Order against Lee on August 7, 2018, and revoked her business’, Jubilee Insurance Services, license on December 1, 2018.

People can check the license status of their agent or contact the Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 if they suspect they are victims of insurance fraud.

http://www.insurance.ca.gov/

Everyone has a different path that ultimately brought them to GEICO. For Kirk La, vice president of GEICO Field Office operations, his road to success was propelled by support of his fellow GEICO associates and having witnessed his mother’s strength and perseverance from a young age. See his story, as told by him, below:

In American culture, the ones who get rewarded are often those who are most vocal and attract attention. I struggled with that at GEICO in my earlier years and probably still a little bit today. I was not the most vocal or attention-seeking individual. I was always taught that good things come to those who stay humble and do good work. There is a delicate balance in staying true to your personal upbringing while satisfying your career demands.

My family is Chinese, but I was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and am the youngest of seven children. My family owned several businesses in Saigon, and my mother was considered one of the wealthiest women in Vietnam.

I was not even a year old when the communist government of North Vietnam seized Saigon, and South Vietnam fell. In an instant, we lost everything–our home, businesses, clothing, and we were separated from our father when he was sent to a different refugee camp.

Ultimately, my mother, my siblings and I were able to escape to Hong Kong. For the next two-and-a-half years, we lived in a refugee camp, waiting for sponsorship to come to America. My mother always said America would be the place that would give us the best opportunity in the world.

We arrived in Salem, Oregon, with no money and spoke little-to-no English. We eventually located my father in 1985. It took nearly 16 years from when we left Saigon to reunite and bring him to the United States in February of 1993. Salem had very few Asians, or any minorities for that matter, when I grew up there. I knew I was different because we had different cultures and spoke a different language at home, but the community was welcoming, and I was just another kid. I had a great childhood, and I’m glad I grew up where I did.

Getting going at GEICO

Getting started at GEICO happened near the end of my junior year at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. The dean of the business school suggested that I apply for the Leo Goodwin Scholarship, which is named for GEICO’s founder. I had no idea who Leo Goodwin was, but my dean told me I would be a great candidate, and he would provide a letter of recommendation. When I came back for my senior year in 1997, I found out that I had won the scholarship. Upon graduation, GEICO offered me an internship in Macon, and that’s how I got started.

In 2002, I relocated to Virginia Beach office, where I managed my way through our powersports division, eventually becoming the assistant vice president for regional underwriting and powersports in 2007. By 2011, I ended up in Buffalo, where I headed up underwriting operations before taking on GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc., responsibility in 2013. I remained in that role for two years before taking over at GEICO’s BoatUS. Currently, I serve as vice president of GEICO Field Office operations.

Without a doubt, the keys to my success started with my mother. She worked two jobs most of her life in America to feed seven hungry mouths. The list is immensely long after that. There have been so many caring peers, supervisors, managers, directors and officers who have helped me and have given me excellent guidance. The associates of GEICO are amazing, and their willingness to help makes a world of difference. I’m still here 23 years later because of the many great people I have gotten to work with and the people I work with today.

The world is a great place. Go explore and learn, but make sure you do your part to make it an even better place for everyone else! I am proud to be an Asian American living in this great country.

If I have any advice to give, I would say, “do the best you can, be humble, respect your elders and don’t be greedy.”

Kirk La

https://www.geico.com/

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) today adopted an emergency regulation requiring New York State regulated issuers of life insurance and annuity contracts, property and casualty insurers and premium finance agencies to provide relief to New York consumers and businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. Consumers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 may defer paying life insurance premiums for ninety (90) days. Consumers and small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 may defer paying premiums for property and casualty insurance for sixty (60) days. Premium finance agencies are required to provide the same relief as insurers. This follows Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 202.13.

“Government and industry must continue to work together to help those who are suffering financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell. “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, we are taking action to give New Yorkers experiencing financial hardship during this difficult period extra time to pay their insurance premiums and make other policy-related decisions.”

In addition, DFS announced that uninsured New Yorkers can obtain health insurance through New York State’s Health Plan Marketplace under a special enrollment period from April 1st – April 15th.

Life Insurance and Annuity Contracts

The 134 members of the Life Insurance Council of New York (LICONY), which represent over 80% of the life insurance industry in New York, agreed to extend to 90 days the grace period for the payment of premiums and fees, and for the exercise of policyholder or certificate holder rights, under life insurance policies and annuity contracts in cases of financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency regulation adopted by DFS ensures a level playing field by directing all regulated issuers of life insurance and annuity contracts in the state to give the same relief.

“The members of LICONY are deeply concerned about the impact of the current economic conditions on their customers,” said LICONY President and CEO Mary A. Griffin. “Our members are proud of our partnership with Governor Cuomo and Superintendent Lacewell during these challenging times and we stand ready to assist our customers by providing a 90-day grace period for premium payments to anyone encountering financial hardship as a result of COVID-19.”

The Superintendent applauded LICONY for its understanding and partnership.

DFS requires life insurance and annuity contract issuers to provide the following relief to policyholder or certificate holder (consumer) who can demonstrate financial hardship due to COVID-19:

• Extend to 90 days the grace period for the payment of premiums and fees to ensure that the policyholder’s or certificate holder’s life insurance policy or certificate does not lapse for non-payment during the 90-day period;
• Waive late payment fees otherwise due, and not report late payments to credit rating agencies, during the 90-day period;
• Allow premiums due but not paid during the 90-day period to be paid over the course of the following year in 12 equal monthly installments; and
• Extend to 90 days the period to exercise policyholder and contract holder rights and benefits under life insurance and annuity contracts.

Property and Casualty Insurance

Today’s emergency regulation also directs property and casualty insurers to provide flexibility to consumers experiencing financial hardship caused by the pandemic by extending to 60 days the grace period for the payment of premiums and fees under auto, homeowners and renters insurance policies, among others. The same relief will be available for businesses with 100 employees or less, independently owned and operated and resident in New York, under auto, homeowners, renters, workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, livery and taxi, and certain other lines of commercial insurance.

DFS requires property and casualty insurers to provide the following relief to consumers and small businesses who can demonstrate financial hardship due to COVID-19:

• Provide a 60-day grace period for the cancellation, conditional renewal or non-renewal of a policyholder’s insurance policy;
• Allow premiums due but not paid during the 60-day period to be paid over the course of the following year in 12 equal monthly installments; and
• Waive any late payment fees, and not report late payments to credit rating agencies, during the 60-day period.

Premium Finance Agencies

The emergency regulation also requires premium finance agencies to provide the same relief to those consumers and businesses who have financed the payments of their premiums, subject to safety and soundness considerations of the premium finance agencies.

DFS requires premium finance agencies to provide the following relief to consumers and businesses who can demonstrate financial hardship due to COVID-19:

• Provide a 90-day grace period (for life insurance policies) and a 60-day grace period (for property and casualty policies) for the payment of installment payments under the premium financing agreement;
• Allow installment payments due but not paid during the applicable grace period to be paid over the course of the following year in 12 equal monthly installments; and
• Waive any late payment fees, and not report late payments to credit rating agencies, during the applicable grace period.

Health Insurance Special Enrollment Period

DFS also announced that uninsured individuals will be able to obtain health insurance coverage through the NY State of Health, New York’s Health Plan Marketplace, under a special enrollment period from April 1st – April 15th. To date, 2,244 New Yorkers have already applied.

New Yorkers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic may enroll in the marketplace at any time within 60 days from their loss of coverage, or may be eligible to enroll in other NY State of Health programs – Medicaid, low-premium Essential Plan and Child Health Plus.  New Yorkers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health online at nystateofhealth.ny.gov, by phone at 855-355-5777, or with the help of enrollment assistors.

The emergency amendments can be found at Section 405.6 of Title 3; and Sections 185.7(m)(4) and 187.6(f)(4) and Part 229 of Title 11 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York. Read a copy of the emergency regulation.

For additional DFS regulatory actions on the COVID-19 pandemic, visit www.dfs.ny.gov/industry/coronavirus.