Pub. 5 2010-2011

www.nebankers.org 22 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. Jonathan J. Wegner is an attorney with Baird Holm LLP in Omaha. He is a member of the firm’s banking group and works with Nebraska bankers on matters ranging frommergers and acquisitions to regulatory compliance. For more information, visit www.bairdholm.comor contact Wegner at (402) 636-8340 or jwegner@ bairdholm.com. promulgated by the bureau, and a number of “enumerated consumer laws” (see the sidebar on this page for a list of the laws to be administered by the bureau). Themajor front in the leg- islative battle over the bureau involved whether or not certain nonbank firms would be regulated by it. The bureau is generally not authorized to regulate The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is empowered to create rules for a significant number of laws, including the following: • Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act • Electronic Fund Transfer Act • Equal Credit Opportunity Act • Fair Credit Billing Act • Fair Credit Reporting Act • Home Owners Protection Act • Fair Debt Collection Practices Act • Home Mortgage Disclosure Act • Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act • Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act • SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act • Truth in Lending Act • Truth in Savings Act • Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act • Select provisions of the Federal Deposit Insurance and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Acts • Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act we’re Always CLOSE BY NetWorks is the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) service provider that Nebraskans have used and learned to trust like family for over 30 years. Since our offices are right here in Nebraska, you can count on us to provide quick and personalized service for all of your EFT needs. Give us a call and let’s talk about how we can simplify EFT for you. You will talk with a fellow Nebraskan and not some automated system. www.netseft.com Toll Free 800-735-6833 Local 402-434-8202 Q Financial Reform merchants selling nonfinancial goods or services, real estate brokers, manu- factured home retailers, accountants and tax preparers, lawyers, insurance companies regulated by the states, specified employee benefit or compen- sation plans, auto dealers, and other excluded classes. Among the specific powers granted to the bureau under the financial reform legislation are the powers to define and prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, to require effective disclosures in connection with any consumer financial product or service, to establish consumer rights to information from persons regulated by the bureau, and to study and issue regulations restricting the use of man- datory arbitration provisions. Such powers could disproportionately affect smaller banks, which often serve spe- cific customer niches. In some cases, a one-size-fits-all approach to under- writing requirements may preclude the kind of flexibility needed for such bankers to function effectively. Although the bill was intended to target Wall Street excesses, Nebraska bankers are just as likely to feel the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act. The regulations have yet to be written, but all signs point to a challenging road ahead as bankers already swamped with rules and regulations are forced to respond to even more. Z