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STATE OF AFFAIRS: MIDWEST » Ohio rank: 15 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate OctOber 2013 2.9% Unemployment Rate 2.7% 7.5% year agO 3.2% 3.9% 6.9% year-Over-year change -8.9% -29.8% 8.7% Top County 90+ Day Delinquency Rate ashtabula cOunty Foreclosure Rate OctOber 2013 3.4% 5.3% year agO 3.6% 6.2% year-Over-year change -5.0% -13.9% Top Core-Based Statistical Area ashtabula, Oh 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate OctOber 2013 3.4% 5.3% year agO 3.6% 6.2% year-Over-year change -5.0% -13.9% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the October 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary October 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. IN THE NEWS Specialized Business Software Selected by BSI Specialized Business Software (SBS) recently announced its Docunym cloud document management and workflow solution was selected by BSI Financial Services. SBS is a Solon, Ohio-based provider of custom software solutions for insurance, mortgage, and financial services companies. BSI Financial is a provider of mortgage subservicing, default solutions, loan quality control, and business process outsourcing services. "In addition to creating operating efficiencies, Docunym allows us to deliver greater transparency in loan servicing operations and reporting, which is critical to our clients and their regulators and investors," said Gagan Sharma, BSI's president and CEO. BSI selected Docunym for the solution's ability to streamline document management and provide secure access for its clients. The company has saved both time and money 124 using the technology equal to two full-time employees. Lengthy transmission times and complex approval processes are greatly reduced through the solution's document retrieval and indexing capabilities, the companies explained. Docunym also monitors IP addresses and assigns security access to users according to their needs. "With secure cloud document management and workflow, BSI Financial has achieved greater speed and efficiency in conducting their business," said Steve Wiser, president and founder of Specialized Business Solutions. Five WWR Attorneys Named Super Lawyers Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA, announced that five firm partners were named 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers. Senior partner Alan Weinberg was recognized for his eleventh consecutive year on the Ohio Super Lawyers list. Larry Rothenberg, a partner of the real estate default group received recognition for his ninth year. Rosemary Taft-Milby, managing partner of the litigation and defense group was acknowledged for her eighth year. Recognized for their sixth year were Scott Weltman, the firm's managing partner, and Allen Reis, managing partner of the commercial collections groups and a member of the firm's management committee. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. SEC Charges Fifth Third and Exec for Improper Loan-Loss Accounting The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the holding company of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank and its former CFO with improper accounting of loan losses in the midst of the financial crisis. Fifth Third agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle the SEC's charges. Former CFO Daniel Poston agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and has been suspended from practicing as an accountant on behalf of any publicly traded company or other entity regulated by the SEC. According to the SEC's order, Fifth Third experienced a substantial increase in non-performing assets in its commercial real estate portfolio as the market declined in 2007 and 2008 and borrowers failed to make their payments. Fifth Third decided in the third quarter of 2008 to sell off large pools of these troubled loans, and the SEC explained that once Fifth Third formed the intent to sell the loans, U.S. accounting rules required the company to classify them as "held for sale" and value them at fair market value. According to the SEC, proper accounting would have increased Fifth Third's pretax loss for Q 3 2008 by 132 percent. Instead, the federal agency says Fifth Third continued to classify the loans as "held for investment," falsely suggesting the company had not decided to sell the loans. "Improper accounting by Fifth Third and Poston misled investors during a time of significant upheaval and financial distress for the company," said George S. Canellos, co-director of the SEC's division of enforcement. "It is important for investors to know the financial consequences of decisions made by management, so accounting rules that depend on management's intent must be scrupulously observed." According to the SEC's order, Poston was aware the company had entered into agreements with brokers during the third quarter of 2008 to market and sell the commercial real estate loans. Despite understanding the relevant accounting rules, agency officials say Poston failed to direct Fifth Third to classify and value the loans as required. The SEC alleges Poston also made inaccurate statements to Fifth Third's auditors about the company's loan classifications and then certified the company's inaccurate results. "By failing to classify large pools of loans as required, Fifth Third and Poston kept investors from knowing the full truth behind its commercial real estate loan portfolio," said Stephen L. Cohen, an associate director in the SEC's enforcement division. Fifth Third and Poston consented to the entry of the order finding that they violated

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