Shirley Curfman Published in Real Estate Weekly
"House committee sets framework for covered bonds"

Seyfarth Shaw Corporate Department partner Shirley Curfman wrote an article published in Real Estate Weekly on August 3. The article discussed a recently approved bill H.R. 940, which is reportedly White House-supported but strongly opposed by the Senate, and how it would provide investors with a framework as to how covered bonds would be treated, should a financial institution default and become insolvent.

Shirley also examined two amendments that were accepted as part of the vote on H.R. 940 which help "alleviate" some of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) concerns, and she mentioned the U.S. Covered Bond Act of 2011, which creates a U.S. covered bond structure.

Shirley concluded by pointing out that in Europe, covered bonds are "one of the primary methods used to finance mortgages" and have been used for more than 200 years. She stated, covered bond market supporters "believe that it could help restore liquidity to U.S. credit markets and encourage investment of private capital."