Predatory lending

Cardin Calls On Ag Holder To Aggressively Combat Predatory Lending Practices; Senator also announces July hearing on GTMO detainees

June 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, participated today in the first oversight hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder. During the hearing, Senator Cardin called upon the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate allegations of predatory lending across the country.    » read more »

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – As foreclosure rates around the country continue to rise, it has become increasingly difficult for many homeowners seeking to modify their mortgages to get a hold of their loan servicers. In an effort to help struggling homeowners and ensure that banks and loan servicers are held accountable to requests for help, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and 14 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan urging HUD to develop and implement a strategy requiring banks and loan servicers, particularly those that have agreed to participate in the Obama Administration’s foreclosure prevention initiatives, to respond to homeowners in a timely fashion.    » read more »

Stemming Foreclosures and Keeping Families in Their Homes

May 29, 2009 -- Foreclosures continue to drag down our economy, and Michigan has one of the worst foreclosure situations in the nation. To address this issue, Congress passed and President Obama recently signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009.

The act expands and improves the Help for Homeowners program, the Federal Housing Administration’s tools to protect homeowners, and various counseling and foreclosure prevention programs to provide access and assistance to more people. It will bring much-needed help to many homeowners who are trying desperately to save their homes.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 05/20/2009 - A full 82 percent of credit cards allow penalty interest rate hikes that could last indefinitely, giving responsible cardholders no right to return to the originally agreed upon interest rate, according to a new issue brief from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Safe Credit Cards Project. A unique Senate proposal known as a “cure period” will help curb penalty interest charges that add billions to Americans’ credit card debt. Pew’s analysis also found:

* Americans are on track to pay credit card penalty interest charges of more than $7 billion annually.
* The median allowable penalty rate was 28 percent (double the average non-penalty rate), adding $500 in penalties per year to a typical cardholder’s account.    » read more »

Member of Banking Committee crafted provision in bill that would protect consumers under 21, and require credit card companies to verify consumer's financial situation before approval

May 22, 2009 -- Hoboken, NJ – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today visited Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken to discuss credit card reform legislation currently being debated in the Senate.    » read more »

President Obama Discusses Need for Credit Card Reform; Urges Congress to Pass Comprehensive Legislation

May 14 , 2009 -- Today, President Obama will hold a town hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico where he will discuss the need for immediate reform of the credit card industry and his commitment to signing the Credit Card Bill of Rights into law by Memorial Day.    » read more »

Legislation would protect families fighting for financial independence

May 13, 2009 -- DOVER – Delaware Governor Jack Markell joined with Sen. Robert Marshall, D-Wilmington, and Rep. Bryon Short, D-Brandywine, to unveil legislation Wednesday that aims to protect Delaware families from the scourge of predatory lenders.

“Families who fall victim to subprime loan schemes and other financial predators see their economic opportunity crumble beneath a mountain of high interest rates,” Markell said. “I am proud to be standing with Sen. Marshall and Rep. Short to stand up for these families and stand up against financial predators.”    » read more »

SEIU, MoveOn.org and other Community Groups Collect 70,000+ 'Taxpayer Proxies' to Call for Ousting of CEO Ken Lewis, Reform of Predatory Banking Practices, Voice for Bank Workers

April 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC--Fueled by mounting frustration over an economic system that rewards corporate executives for their bad decisions while working people struggle to stay afloat, tens of thousands of taxpayers took action today at Bank of America branches across the country in advance of Bank of America's Annual Shareholder Meeting.    » read more »

March 25, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky.—“House Bill 444 represents an important first step in regulating the practice of payday lending in the Commonwealth. The real-time database being created will provide enhanced monitoring capabilities, which should lead to a 25 to 30 percent reduction in the number of loans. It is important that we move forward now with this strong protective measure on behalf of consumers and others who may fall prey to predatory lending practices.    » read more »

Broad Array of National, State Groups Support Financial Product Safety Commission Bill

March 10, 2009 -- More than fifty diverse organizations supported legislation introduced today by key Members of Congress to create a new federal agency to ensure the safety, fairness and sustainability of credit and payment products. The legislation would create a new Financial Products Safety Commission to ensure that credit and payment products do not have predatory or deceptive features that can harm consumers or lock them into unaffordable loans.    » read more »

January 7, 2008 -- Consumer group representatives condemned new taxpayer “un-privacy” rules recently issued by the IRS for expanding rather than closing “gaping loopholes” that already allow sharing and marketing based on tax records, but issued cautious support for a separate IRS request for comments on developing new regulations that could rein in the marketing of predatory refund anticipation loans by tax preparers.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- LANSING - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox today announced that more than 18,400 consumers are to receive a check as the result of a nationwide settlement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company. Cox, together with the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia, sued Ameriquest Mortgage Company for their predatory lending practices.    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) hailed the Senate’s passage of legislation overhauling the Federal Housing Administration today, even as he and other lawmakers warned that more needs to be done to combat rising foreclosures and a broader housing crisis. The Senate voted 93-1 in favor of the bill.

“Passing FHA reform may help families who are at risk of losing their homes. But the Senate should not believe that because we passed this bill today our work is done,” said Durbin. “We must do more.”    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- “Before the full scope of the subprime mortgage crisis was realized earlier this year, I called for an overhaul of the Federal Housing Administration to meet the needs of America’s working families and provide a real alternative to the subprime and predatory mortgage industry.

The reforms I’ve laid out in my FHA modernization bill, The 21st Century Housing Act, and elements of which are included in the Senate FHA bill include:    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- HARRISBURG - Nearly $11 million in consumer restitution is being sent to more than 12,000 Pennsylvania residents as the result of a multi-state settlement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company, resolving allegations that the company engaged in predatory lending practices across the country.    » read more »