Testimony of CRL Senior Policy Counsel Ellen Harnick before House Financial Services Subcomittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.

Comprehensive testimony detailing the current state of the mortgage system, the reasons it is broken, and the steps and tools needed to stem the massive growth of foreclosures.

CRL applauds Massachusetts AG for using consumer protection laws, specifically the unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP) law, to stop foreclosures on unfair subprime loans

Explains how payday lending does not help borrowers avoid overdraft fees in spite of industry claims.

Highlights of President Obama's plan to address the housing crisis

Testimony re: H.R. 703, a bill to promote bank liquidity and lending through deposit insurance, the HOPE for Homeowners program, and other enhancements.

Explains the importance of a federal 36% interest rate cap in stopping predatory lending and stimulating the economy.

CRL proposes four policy recommendations that focus on removing obstacles that prevent systematic, sustainable loan modifications

Excerpts from Credit Suisse report which discussed bankruptcy reform

Report advocates use of Court-supervised loan modifications without using public funds in order to preserve home values and provide fair terms to lenders

Report advocates the use of court-supervised loan modifications in bankruptcy

Overview and endorsement of The Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009 (S 61 and HR 200)

Michael D. Calhoun, President, CRL

Update on subprime mortgages and current crisis, focusing on loan performance and foreclosures.

While credit card companies compete to offer the lowest "headline" rates in solicitations, they also depend on less obvious tactics to boost their financial returns. Repricing customers based on penalty triggers is a common revenue-boosting strategy. This CRL study shows that penalty repricing leads people to underestimate the interest they are paying and that credit card issuers try to keep it that way. Furthermore, it shows that penalty repricing is increasingly common and there is a growing disparity between the size of the penalty and what consumers expect to pay.

This report demonstrates that credit card “payment allocation” policy can be both expensive and confusing for credit card customers and shows that allocating payments to the lowest rate first is harmful to borrowers, highly deceptive, and inconsistent with risk-based pricing.

List of quotes from experts in support of allowing bankruptcy judges discretion to modify terms of mortgage for a principle residence.

Report summarizes state and local policy options for reducing foreclosures

Testimony points to need for decisive policy actions to realign interests of homebuyers and institutions that provide the loans and the entities that invest in those mortgages

Urges effective policies to maximize number of families who stay in their homes. Urges Treasury and Congress to support loan modifications