Pub. 11 2020 Issue 4

Pub. 11 2020 I Issue 4 Winter 19 West Virginia Banker Russell Jessee is a member of the Charleston office of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. He heads the firm’s Business Litigation Group. Russell defends banks and other businesses in all manner of disputes and strives to reach resolutions that make business sense for his clients. He does not litigate for the sake of litigation. Rather, he seeks efficient resolution so clients can focus on what they do best — running their businesses. He can be reached at Russell.Jessee@Steptoe-Johnson.com or (304) 353-8103. Sarah Ellis also is a member of the Charleston office of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. Her love of business transactions stems from her childhood when she accompanied her dad, a real estate developer and contractor, to his office almost daily. In addition to transactions, Sarah works closely with banking clients on collateral, bankruptcy and collection issues. She can be reached at Sarah.Ellis@Steptoe-Johnson.com or (304) 353-8127. loan contracts the statutory language in subsection (b)(2) about which default charges are permissible and then assess and collect them only if you can comply with all the require- ments of subsection (b)(3). Debt collection calls . The CCPA now has safe harbors on debt collection calls. So long as you (i) make no more than 30 calls per week, (ii) speak to the debtor (or anyone) no more than 10 times per week, and (iii) call only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., you are presumptively safe. (W. Va. Code § 46A-2-125(d).) Of course, do not use any profane, obscene, or abusive language, and make sure that your callers iden- tify themselves at the beginning of calls. (W. Va. Code § 46A-2-125(a)-(b).) Also, if a debtor hires a lawyer in an effort to stop your debt collection, the debtor must notify you in writing (on paper or electronically) and identify their lawyer. (W. Va. Code § 46A-2-128(e).) You have 72 hours to stop debt collection after receiving such written notice, but you may continue to send regular account statements and required notices. Requests for statements. A final trick to be aware of is that a distressed debtor may send a request for an account statement. West Virginia Code § 46A-2-114(2) requires that a creditor provide one free annual account statement upon So, you don’t know Boenning & Scattergood? Maybe you should. Full- service investment banking and brokerage firm… with 105 years of building client-first relationships One of the leading market makers in the country… for over 200 community banks striving for improved liquidity One of the leaders in the region in community bank capital raises… with experience in public and private offerings of equity and debt One of the most experienced, knowledgeable and respected M&A teams in the country… with well over 100 bank M&A transactions Our investment bankers look forward to helping you in 2020. Please call us. To receive our REGIONAL BANKING STATS REPORT, please email us. Boenning & Scattergood is a trusted advisor and partner to the region’s community banks. www.boenninginc.com • Member FINRA / SIPC Chad Hull chull@boenninginc.com (610) 832-5310 Our investment bankers look forward to helping you. Please call or email us. To receive our REGIONAL BANKING STATS REPORT, please email us. Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. is a trusted advisor and partner to the region’s community banks. www.boenninginc.co • e ber FINRA / SIPC Traditional Values Meet Innovative Thinking Tony Latini alatini@boenninginc.com (610) 832-5312 Charlie Crowley charlesc@boenninginc.com (216) 378-1430 Chris Chapman cchapman@boenninginc.com (216) 378-1297 written request. Rather than ignore such a request, assuming that the monthly account statements should be enough, it is best to respond with a full statement covering the previous 12 months promptly. 