Advocacy Groups, Attorneys General Back Rule Change To Combat Predatory Lending

More than 200 national advocacy groups including the Coalition for Responsible Lending, AARP, Consumers Union, ACORN, NAACP, Consumer Federation of America, National League of Cities and National Council of La Raza joined 44 state Attorneys General in supporting an Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) proposed rule change that would help prevent a predatory lending practice that costs 500,000 American homeowners $1.3 billion in lost equity every year. The advocacy groups, representing more than 50 million Americans, jointly signed a letter to OTS Director James E. Gilleran supporting a change to

Predatory Lending Annual Toll is $9.1 Billion

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 25 -- The North Carolina-based Coalition for Responsible Lending (CRL) today released a major new report showing that predatory lending practices cost U.S. borrowers an estimated $9.1 billion annually. The U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee is to hold hearings on July 26-27th on predatory lending abuses and possible reforms. Spokesman Martin Eakes will testify before the committee, urging it to curb mortgage lending practices that were addressed in North Carolina's landmark predatory lending legislation, enacted in 1999. The Coalition was a driving