Mortgage Lending

Home ownership has been the primary means for most American families to build and pass on inter-generational wealth. However, government-sanctioned racial discrimination in housing and mortgage finance markets robbed many families of this opportunity, and today’s racial homeownership gap is barely changed from the levels of more than 50 years ago. Closing the homeownership gap is essential to closing the racial wealth gap.  Additionally, predatory mortgage lending practices drained trillions in wealth from families, especially Black, Latino, low wealth and low-income Americans. CRL successfully advocated for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which has made the mortgage market far safer for consumers. CRL is building on this progress by working to ensure that all credit-worthy borrowers have access to fair, affordable, and sustainable mortgages. And that policy makers and market participants develop solutions that are appropriate to respond to the scale of this housing crisis. 

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Soaring Spillover: Accelerating Foreclosures to Cost Neighbors $502 billion in 2009 alone; 69.5 million homes lose $7,200 on average

Soaring Spillover: Accelerating Foreclosures to Cost Neighbors $502 billion in 2009 alone; 69.5 million homes lose $7,200 on average

Cost Climbs to $1.9 trillion during 2009-2012, with 92 million homeowners losing $20,300 on average This is CRL's third report on the spillover impact of mortgage foreclosures. This new report is based on new CRL projections of 2.4 million foreclosures for all loans (not just subprime) in 2009, and 9.0 million during 2009-2012. This report also reflects a somewhat more...
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Mortgage Lending

H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009

H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009

Congress has an opportunity to prevent another mortgage fiasco by passing stronger protections on home lending. Americans are clear about wanting more accountability throughout the lending chain: Two-thirds of voters surveyed said Wall Street should be accountable for buying loans that put borrowers at serious risk of foreclosure. And 84% believe mortgage brokers should have a legal responsibility to act...
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Testimony
Mortgage Lending

Solutions to the Foreclosure Crisis

Solutions to the Foreclosure Crisis

Allow qualified homeowners to restructure mortgages under court supervision (H.R. 1106/S. 61) Restore confidence in the housing market by strengthening mortgage lending practices and correcting perverse business incentives to make bad loans (H.R. 1728) Reduce tax burdens related to loan modifications that undermine foreclosure prevention Reduce or eliminate key obstacles to constructive loan modifications (S. 376) Increase modifications by providing...
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Mortgage Lending

Examining the Making Home Affordable Program

Examining the Making Home Affordable Program

The Administration's Making Home Affordable Program represents a significant step forward, one that is essential and long overdue. It includes concrete and pragmatic measures to counter the perverse incentives that severed the interests of servicers from those of the borrowers and investors, and led servicers to pursue foreclosure even where the homeowner could afford a loan modification that would produce...
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Testimony
Mortgage Lending

Mortgage Lending Reform: A Comprehensive Review of the American Mortgage System

Mortgage Lending Reform: A Comprehensive Review of the American Mortgage System

We suggest a broad, simple framework that addresses the entire mortgage market and that focuses on the underlying incentives in that market. The legislation should establish a bright-line ban on dangerous loan features such as prepayment penalties and "no-doc" loans as well as on market-distorting incentives such as yieldspread premiums. All mortgage origination should be subject to rules that discourage...
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Testimony
Mortgage Lending

Massachusetts Fights "Exploding" Subprime Mortgages

Massachusetts Fights "Exploding" Subprime Mortgages

Fremont case touted as a model for other states State shows that business as usual in subprime lending amounted to unfair and deceptive practices. CRL is encouraged by the recent success of the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG), who used longstanding consumer protection laws to stop foreclosures on unfair subprime loans. CRL believes the AG's approach could serve as an effective...
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Mortgage Lending

Highlights of the New Housing Plan

Highlights of the New Housing Plan

Read CRL CEO Martin Eakes' statement on the Housing Plan >> Hope for Stopping the Foreclosure Epidemic On February 18, 2009, the President announced a new, comprehensive plan for addressing the housing crisis. The plan, which called for more funding than anticipated, includes a range of incentives that will encourage lenders to modify loans. The plan recognizes that stopping foreclosures...
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Research
Mortgage Lending

Protecting Homeownership, Reforming the Marketplace: The California Legislature’s Role in Today’s Crisis

Protecting Homeownership, Reforming the Marketplace: The California Legislature’s Role in Today’s Crisis

Our nation's current economic crisis was driven by, among other things, three significant shortcomings in the mortgage system: 1) loose or nonexistent underwriting standards; 2) misplaced financial incentives that created conflicts between industry profits and borrowers' interests; and 3) lack of accountability among industry players for loan quality or performance. Given this systemic failure, the State should step in to...
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Mortgage Lending
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