10Sep

Financial Statement Reporting for Proceeds from PPP Loans

September 10, 2020 Spiegel Accountancy Corp.

Spiegel Accountancy Corp.

History of the Paycheck Protection Program

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided an estimated $2.2 trillion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and stimulate the US economy, including $349 billion that was earmarked for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to be administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). An additional $310 billion was later authorized for the PPP.

Under the PPP, eligible businesses can apply to an SBA-approved lender for a loan that does not require collateral or personal guarantees. The loans have a 1% fixed interest rate and are due in two years. However, these loans are eligible for forgiveness (in full or in part, including any accrued interest) under certain conditions. For loans (or parts of loans) that are forgiven, the lender will collect the forgiven amount from the U.S. government. A recent bill has extended the repayment term to five years for any portion of the loan not forgiven.

18Aug

California MBA Statement on New FHFA Fee

August 18, 2020 California MBA

Today, the California MBA released the following statement regarding the FHFA’s announced new 0.5% fee on GSE refinances:

Last week the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) launched an attack on consumers, homeowners, lenders, and the entire housing and mortgage markets. The announced imposition of a new 0.5% fee on all GSE refinance transactions is an unwarranted, opportunistic, ill-timed, and potentially devastating blow to one of the few economic sectors that has helped support the U.S. economy during the unprecedented health and fiscal crisis we currently face. Adding an average of $1,400 (based on $280,000 loan) to each refinanced loan will certainly boost the coffers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but hurts homeowners and lenders with no clear indication that the fee will offset any purported risk to GSE portfolios. In fact, that the fee only targets refinance activity (which, thanks to lower rates and the fact that homeowners must be current on their loans to refinance will serve to make the loans more safe) clearly demonstrate that FHFA’s priorities are misplaced and that the fee should be withdrawn immediately.

In California, the situation is compounded with proposals currently moving through our State Legislature. AB 1436 (Chiu) includes many of the same provisions of AB 2501 (Limon), which was soundly defeated in June. Those include extensive forbearance provisions and punitive penalties for missing any provisions of the bill’s implementation, if passed.

“If the California housing market adds the effects of a bill such as this, it will likely lead to significant limits on the access to affordable mortgage credit for California borrowers by disrupting the securitization market that provides needed liquidity for the mortgage market and otherwise discouraging new mortgage lending in the state. Our state already has the most acute housing affordability challenges in the nation, and this bill will exacerbate, not help, that problem,” said Bill Lowman, President and CEO of American Pacific Mortgage and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the California Mortgage Bankers Association.

The California MBA stands with the countless business and consumer groups that have also spoken out against this irresponsible action, and we urge FHFA Director Calabria to immediately reverse this erroneous decision and protect access to affordable credit for all consumers. Working to recapitalize the GSEs and remove them from conservatorship is a laudable goal, but it must not come at the expense of the American people during a once-in-a-century health and economic disaster.

11Aug

Ransomware with Terms of Service

August 11, 2020 CyberCecurity

Mitch Tanenbaum, Partner & CISO, CyberCecurity

So you thought only companies like Microsoft and Google had terms of service. Apparently that is not the case.

I keep talking about the horror that ransomware 2.0 is with hackers stealing the data before they encrypt it and threatening to publish the data if you don’t pay.

That means backups alone are not sufficient to protect you.

Now one of the first players to use ransomware 2.0 against victims is upping the ante by creating terms of service like a legitimate software provider.

Here are their terms:

If you do not respond to their attack within 3 days, they will publish that you have been hacked on their web site. They say that if you don’t start communicating within 3 days, you only have yourself to blame.
They say that negotiating means dialog and finding the “best” solution for both parties. If the “client” is too shy, scared or just can’t negotiate, that is, they say, exclusively the client’s problem.
They say that if you can’t figure out how much it is going to cost you to recover without them, they will help you. It will cost you over 10 million dollars. Not sure how they came up that number, but there you go.

03Jun

Most Employers in CBRE Study Favor Phased Return to Workplace, Adding Touchless Tech, Restricting Visitors

June 3, 2020 CBRE Group Inc

Most companies included in an analysis by CBRE plan to take a gradual, cautious approach to bringing employees back to their workplaces as governments begin to lift restrictions tied to COVID-19.

Roughly half of the 203 company operations that CBRE studied across the globe are implementing touchless technology to enhance cleanliness. Most are following social-distancing standards. And most will provide their employees with face coverings, though less than a third will require the covering be worn at all times in any company facility unless mandated by local authorities.

CBRE gathered its findings by surveying account leaders in its Global Workplace Solutions business, which manages facilities and real estate projects for large companies. The surveyed account leaders oversee client relationships spanning 4.2 billion square feet of workspace in offices, industrial & logistics real estate, tech space, data centers, retail, and healthcare used by more than 38 million workers. The analysis includes data collected as of May 4.

“Our analysis of our clients’ return-to-work strategies shows that virtually all are engaged in detailed planning to ensure a careful and reasoned approach,” said Karen Ellzey, Executive Managing Director of Consulting and global lead for CBRE’s COVID-19 response for occupier clients. “Most of these companies have established their own criteria for when to return to the workplace beyond local and state government requirements. And nearly three quarters plan to bring employees back in phases rather than all at once.”

Commercial