The New York State Department of Financial Services
("DFS") has issued an emergency regulation on Governor Andrew
Cuomo's Executive Order No. 202.9 from March 21 (the
"Executive Order"). As discussed in our
memorandum from March 23, the Executive Order temporarily
requires, among other things, that banks subject to the
jurisdiction of the DFS grant 90-day forbearance relief to
"any person or business who has a financial hardship as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic." The Executive Order
has sparked a flurry of questions within the lending market as to
the scope of parties and products covered by its terms.
The new regulation, which was issued by the DFS on March 24,
requires that "New York regulated institutions" provide
residential mortgage forbearance on property located in New York
for a period of 90 days to any individual residing in New York who
demonstrates financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, subject to the safety and soundness
