On March 21, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued executive order 202.9 (the “Order”), which empowered the Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) to promulgate emergency regulations to provide temporary relief to consumers in the State of New York for the forbearance of mortgage payments as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic and to direct that automated teller machine fees, overdraft fees and credit card late fees may be restricted or modified during the State disaster emergency.
On March 24, 2020, the Superintendent promulgated an emergency regulation (the “Emergency Regulation”) to implement the Order. The Emergency Regulation sets forth standards and procedures a “Regulated Institution” (as defined herein) must follow as it reviews requests for relief from its customers experiencing financial hardship from COVID-19 and makes determinations on these requests. To the extent that the Emergency Regulation conflicts with two guidance letters previously issued by the DFS on March 19, 2020, the Emergency Regulation prevails.
The Emergency Regulation explicitly does not apply to commercial mortgages or other types of loans.