Lender Essentials: Environmental Liability Insurance

The updated SOP was released by the SBA last Friday.

EDR is pleased to host Part II of last week’s webcast where we’ll focus exclusively on changes to the environmental guidelines. This 20-minute webinar is a must attend for anyone originating SBA 504 or 7a loans.
Version J of SOP 50 10 5 represents the agency’s first update to its environmental guidance since 2014 (when it adopted the revised ASTM Phase I E 1527 standard). EDR’s James Haberlen will provide a timely update on what this round of changes mean to the environmental due diligence required on any loans seeking the SBA’s approval.

With commercial real estate prices leveling out—and even dropping in some areas—interest rates on the rise, and the likelihood of another cyclical market downturn in the next 18-24 months, what should lenders and investors be doing differently now to protect themselves from property environmental risk? What environmental risks are tripping up property deals? What are the risks of ignoring vapor migration risk? Two attorneys will share their observations on common mistakes in due diligence, drawing from real-world case studies and provide specifics on how underwriting should change at this stage of the commercial real estate cycle.

EDR will share the late-breaking changes to the SBA’s SOP 50 10 5—the agency’s first update to its environmental guidance since 2014 (when it adopted the revised ASTM Phase I E 1527 standard). Speakers will share details on the changes coming out October 1 and effective in January 2018. Don’t miss this timely update on what this round of changes mean to the environmental due diligence required on any loans seeking the agency’s approval. Benefits:
-what’s changing?
-latest statistics on SBA lending volumes
-a primer on SBA’s tiered process for environmental investigations

Join us for the latest!

This timely track will distill the headlines into real-world intel about how the priorities of the U.S. EPA are taking shape in a Trump Presidency. Overmeyer will share the U.S. EPA's latest budget forecast, the recently released regulatory agenda, and likely areas of policy focus for site assessment and cleanup.

The speakers will highlight what is likely to change, and where bipartisan support remains strong. Outside the Beltway, macro market forces are converging to drive more interest in redeveloping contaminated properties than ever before. Attendees will leave with an understanding of why the U.S. property market is heading into an exciting period of “redevelopment renaissance.”

The industry's only application to screen for vapor encroachment risk will soon be new and improved. We're moving the VEC App to Lightbox, saving you time. These updates will also include major improvements to key VEC App features like the ground water flow tool, filtering, report output and more. Join us for a preview of the new VEC App.

Points on a Map, But Where?

With every map EDR delivers to you, we've harnessed the power of tax parcels to locate property records. Rather than simply plotting sites along a street, we've matched them to actual properties.

Join us on as we present a brief history of georeferencing, why location accuracy matters, and how EDR has created significant improvements to location data with Tax Parcel Georeferencing.

EDR's CEO, Chris Aronson, and our product team will introduce product improvements that change the fundamentals of data review, empowering you to do you best work faster.

• Property Boundaries on your Historical Sources, to quickly locate your target property boundary on your aerial photos, topos, and Sanborn® Maps.
• Improved EDR Lightbox®, newly updated and streamlined, with superior content and an intuitive interface.
• Coming this Summer: Property-Based Geocoding

Join us as we present our most exciting products advancements ever. This 1-hour session will help ensure you and your team make the most of these exciting new features.

Whether you are new to the environmental due diligence field or a seasoned veteran, this webinar offers something for you. EDR Insight is honored to bring you the expertise of Grady Shields, an attorney with Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP. Shields brings over 30 years of experience practicing environmental law, assisting clients with environmental due diligence and transactions, and counseling lenders on environmental issues.

At this webinar, Shields will share his insights on seven important issues impacting environmental due diligence in commercial real estate lending. This timely event will cover some of the latest environmental risks, like vapor migration, being pushed to the forefront, new emphasis on risk management tools like environmental insurance, the intense pressure on lenders by regulators and more. Take advantage of this opportunity to get some free advice from a trusted voice in environmental risk management.

Who Should Attend:

-Risk managers and loan officers at community banks
-Risk managers at national banks, looking for a quick refresher and update
-Environmental due diligence professionals serving lenders
-Insurance professionals

Expected Takeaways

Those attending should come away with a better grasp of:
-the need for pre-loan diligence, including diligence beyond the real property at issue
-the use and appropriate terms of borrower environmental indemnification agreements
-using both Pollution Legal Liability and Lender Environmental Liability coverage to limit lender risk
-how to maximize value, while minimizing lender risk, in default situations
-trends being driven by the regulators.

Project Managers (PMs) are the key to a professional services firm's success. Yet many firms promote technical people into roles they are not prepared or ready for. As a result, project profitability suffers and there is frustration at every level of the organization. By enabling project managers, through financial and systems training, automation, and accountability measures, the firm's profit margins can increase substantially.

In this webinar, attendees will be able to:
-Evaluate the challenges that cause many Project Managers to struggle with project profitability
-Understand the reasons that projects go over budget
-Review the financial aspects of project management that Project Managers need to know to be successful
-Learn how technology can help Project Managers deliver more profitable projects
-Develop some best practices to help Project Managers succeed

Speaker
June R. Jewell, CPA, President AEC Business Solutions
Jewell, a thought leader and expert in AEC firm profitability. has more than 28 years of business management consulting experience, and unsurpassed knowledge of the AEC industry. In addition to this role, she is the original founder and current strategic advisor of Acuity Business Solutions, a Deltek Premier Partner and consulting firm that works with AEC firms to support business profitability through web-based enterprise management technology.

She is the Amazon best-selling author of the book “Find The Lost Dollars: 6 Steps to Increase Profits in Architecture, Engineering and Environmental Firms.” Jewell has built and run a successful consulting practice, and is a highly sought after speaker at industry events and conferences. Her past speaking engagements include AIA, ACEC, SMPS, Design and Construction Network (DCN), Society for Design Administration (SDA), Zweig Group (formerly ZweigWhite), PSMJ, ROG Growth and Ownership Conference, Project Management Institute (PMI), Deltek Insight and Business of Architecture (BOA).

The new Clean Water Rule has significant implications for the way property due diligence will be conducted throughout the U.S. by altering the definitions and categories of jurisdictional waters and wetlands relating to the discharge of dredged/fill material into Waters of the U.S. These changes have the potential to greatly affect anyone involved in property assessments, land use, planning, development or lending.

Attempts to block its implementation made for a dramatic late summer and early fall. Tune into this time-sensitive event to ensure that you don’t miss out on important updates, the timing of the new revisions, and more importantly, how these changes impact the work you do, particularly for properties on or adjacent to waterbodies and wetland areas.

Attendees will benefit from:

· A leading expert’s take on the “what?” and the “why?” behind the changes
· Gaining clarity on who will be impacted
· Learning the specifics on how the new rule redefines “Waters of the U.S.”
· A close look at what you can expect and what you should be telling your clients
· An understanding of the differences between the new rule and existing rule

Don’t be caught off-guard. The new Clean Water Rule impacts the work you are doing today and could drastically impact the work you do tomorrow. Tune in for the latest!

Do you know where the market for property due diligence is heading? How is your business performance this year compared to industry benchmarks? How confident are you in your business forecast for next year?

The fourth quarter of 2015 is almost upon us, and that means, of course, that 2016 is just around the corner. Join us for our final ScoreKeeper webinar of the year when EDR Insight’s principal analyst Dianne Crocker will share her unique perspective on the latest state of the property due diligence market. Her presentation will provide attendees with a deep dive into the underlying economic and commercial real estate trends impacting the environmental due diligence market, and an in-depth look at the latest trends. Attendees of this 30-minute webinar will get answers to the following types of questions:

• Is my business over- or under-performing the overall market?
• What story does ScoreKeeper’s output tell about the regions driving the strongest 3Q growth?
• Is my state among the top 10 fastest-growers this year?
• Are the hottest mid-year metros still hot or cooling? And if so, who are the new entries taking their place?
• What do the latest data on market indicators impacting demand for your services say about the future business climate you’ll have to contend with?
• How aggressive should your business forecast be for 2016? How about 2017?

Concentrations of credit, particularly those related to commercial real estate loans, have been a common factor in bank distress during economic downturns. Since the financial crisis, regulators have been laser focused on ensuring that the nation’s largest financial institutions – those with $10+ billion in assets – have sound stress testing and capital planning programs in place to ensure financial stability.

The focus is trickling down to the community bank level and examiners are now asking smaller institutions to have appropriate programs in place. For many community bankers, there is uncertainty as to what examiners expect, as well as a lack of resources and expertise to comply. There is also a misconception about the value of stress testing, with attitudes ranging from “it’s a necessary evil” to “it is an integral part of our strategic planning process.”

EDR, in partnership with sister company Trepp, is pleased to offer this complimentary webinar “Stress Testing 101 – Best Practices for the Community Banker.”

Attendees with get answers to some commonly asked questions, including:

-What is a stress test?
-What is capital adequacy stress testing?
-What are the regulators’ expectations?
-What are the larger banks doing?
-What is the current state of stress testing?
-What do stress testing results look like?
-What macroeconomic variables go into projections?

Recent enforcement actions by bank regulators are heightening the need to establish formal policies for third party vendor management. Financial institutions that use outside firms for all types of underwriting and other bank functions are ramping up their oversight of outside firms and for some, the data management burden is not insignificant. This timely event will focus specifically on how risk managers can develop effective policies for managing outside vendors for appraisals and environmental assessments.

EDR is pleased to host a webinar on this timely topic with Mitch Kreeger, a well-known subject matter expert on valuation, environmental and seismic risk, and regulatory compliance topics, will share his insights and advice on establishing an effective vendor management policy for appraisers and environmental professionals. Kreeger will explore the myriad ways that attendees can improve vendor management, from initial project bidding to vendor selection to monitoring vendors over time.

At this educational webinar, attendees will receive advice on managing relationships with appraisers and environmental consultants, including answers to the following:

• What should we consider in selecting the “right” vendor for the job?
• How do we find quality appraisers? EPs?
• What guidance should our institution be giving our appraisers and EPs?
• What criteria should we be using to grade vendors and monitor performance?
• How are banks facing today’s vendor management challenges?

Among the top challenges lenders face today is the need to meet higher expectations set by the OCC and the Federal Reserve governing the use of third-party vendors. While the guidelines were released over a year ago, there is still confusion about what institutions should be doing.

One thing, however, is certain. Effective vendor management takes resources, and many institutions are finding it necessary to add staff and/or technology to help with the cause, particularly smaller institutions. The regulators have made it clear, vendor management is not just a one-time assessment, but is an ongoing process, and monitoring vendors long term is as important as the initial due diligence.

EDR is pleased to host a webinar on this timely topic on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. EST. Scott Roller, former head of vendor management at Citigroup, will provide clarity on the new regulations and help break down regulator expectations into easy-to-understand terms. Roller will explore key dimensions that attendees can use as the foundation for building out their own robust vendor management oversight program, from initial vendor risk classification all the way through ensuring adequate executive engagement in vendor management.

Attendees will learn best practices for satisfying regulators with this educational workshop, including answers to the following:
• What does the latest regulatory guidance on vendor management require?
• What are the biggest headaches banks are facing in complying with them?
• What advice is recommended for smaller banks struggling with limited manpower/resources?
• What are bank examiners looking for during audits?
• What are the latest best practices for policies and procedures?
• How are banks coping with the need to track and monitor vendors?
• What are the most common shortcomings that audits reveal?

Attendees will also receive a free copy of a white paper on vendor oversight and the cost of compliance.

Tune in for the industry’s only inside look at how the first half of the new year shaped up. In this complimentary web event, Dianne Crocker will share the latest stats from EDR’s ScoreKeeper service on how the property due diligence market looks at mid-year—as well as what your forecast for the second half will look like. Attendees of this 60-minute webinar will learn:

• The strength of commercial real estate investment and lending activity
• ScoreKeeper’s barometers of regional, state and metro hot spots for Phase I ESA volume
• Key forces driving demand for due diligence this year
• Changes in risk tolerance from the user community
• EDR Insight’s near-term forecast for environmental due diligence

Following decades of studies, scrutiny and debate, the U.S. EPA updated its TCE’s toxicity profile in the IRIS database, dramatically lowering the toxicity value. For transactional due diligence, this more stringent limit has important implications, including markedly more extensive and expensive cleanup processes. Given the focus on vapor migration in the new ASTM Phase I ESA standard, environmental professionals need to be increasingly cautious when making REC determinations and recommendations to clients.

Adding to the confusion is the significant variability in how regulators are using the updated TCE toxicity profile when making closure decisions at contaminated properties. For instance, U.S. EPA Regions 9, 10 and states like Minnesota, Indiana and Massachusetts (among others) have implemented profoundly different approaches to address TCE risk at contaminated sites. Thus, it is critical for environmental professionals to stay abreast of the how TCE guidance is being interpreted and applied across the country. In the latest development, the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry is proposing a dramatic change to its TCE toxicity profile for the first time in 18 years. The comment period ended on March 16, 2015, and if the update is finalized in its current form, there will be more intense scrutiny on exposure risks which will further complicate transactional due diligence.

This timely webinar will bring together an attorney and a national subject matter expert to address the various impacts of TCE’s toxicity update on transactional due diligence. This panel will help EPs answer the following questions:

-Does TCE in groundwater constitute a VEC and/or a REC?
-How should an EP manage variability in TCE standards in multi-state transactions?
-How can an EP take steps to minimize exposure to potential liability?
-How can an EP make sense of the science and available guidance?
-How should an EP communicate potential risks associated with TCE to clients?

Join us for a complimentary web event on the state of the market in the first quarter of 2015—and a look at the sectors driving growth in the new year. Attendees of this 60-minute webinar will learn:

• The status of commercial property transactions and the asset classes attracting the most attention
• This quarter’s regional, state and metro market hot spots
• Key players in the deal-making and lending worlds
• Where to focus business development efforts for 2015
• EDR Insight’s near-term forecast for environmental due diligence

Commercial real estate markets continue their slow recovery. As demand for loans intensifies, regulatory compliance is top of mind for financial institutions. Bank regulators are exercising strict oversight over all types of bank underwriting, including commercial appraisals. This webinar will address head-on the challenges that institutions face in meeting the latest guidance impacting the appraisal function, and what risk managers can and should be doing to survive an appraisal compliance audit.

Attendees will receive answers to these important questions:

• What do current guidance/regulations require of banks related to appraisals and how has that changed?
• What specific things are bank examiners looking for in an appraisal compliance audit?
• Are you doing everything you can to prepare your institution for the scrutiny of examiners before an audit? During an audit? After an audit?
• What are the latest best practices that banks should include today in their appraisal policies to protect themselves during this stage of market recovery?

EDR Insight is fortunate to have Mitch Kreeger for this timely event. Kreeger is a well-known Subject Matter Expert (SME) on various valuation, environmental and seismic risk, and regulatory compliance topics by peers nationwide. Currently, Kreeger is Chief Appraiser and Principal Consultant at Kreeger Consulting, a private appraisal/environmental/seismic risk consulting services firm that offers commercial appraisal reviews, outsourced Chief Appraiser duties, and advisory services to lenders on regulatory compliance, efficient appraisal/environmental risk functions, and effective policy updates.

Audience:
• Primary: Risk managers at financial institutions, particularly at community bank level
• Secondary: Commercial appraisers

Exposure to professional liability ranks high on the list of any environmental professional’s concerns. In this webinar, industry veteran Anthony Buonicore will present five carefully-selected case studies where an EP was sued, highlighting how costly litigation could have been avoided. Attendees of this webinar will come away with steps that can be taken to minimize professional liability exposure when:

• Submitting a Phase I ESA proposal
• Conducting a Phase I ESA
• Writing the Phase I ESA report