PA Firm Fined Nearly $1 Million
A black-owned Philadelphia mortgage broker has been slapped with a hefty penalty for using predatory loans to discriminate against its African American customers.
Mortgage Reduction Scam Duped Mostly Hispanics
The Texas attorney general has gone to court to try and stop the owners of a mortgage firm accused of ripping off more than 100 mostly poor Hispanic homeowners.
Countrywide Exec Fired for Steering Borrowers to Subprime
Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday that it fired a mid-level executive at one of its mortgage units after he encouraged loan officers in a memo to downgrade borrowers' credit ratings in order to steer them into more expensive loans.
Are Brokers Best?
The director of the financial justice center for consumer advocacy group ACORN said that although "there may be good brokers, particularly in the prime market, in the subprime market, brokers are a large source of predatory lending."
2 More Lenders Under Predatory Servicing Microscope
The growing loan servicing practice of modifying borrower repayment terms is being watched closely by ratings agencies in the wake of two, high-profile government cases this past year.
Minority Denials, Approvals
Even as one organization is crying foul over disparities in the declination rates for minorities, another is touting its treatment of nonwhites.
Subprime Coalition Moves to Reign In Predatory Players
Subprime lenders have formulated a legislative plan they say will increase consumer protection in a larger number of subprime mortgages and push a uniform national anti-predatory standard.
ACORN, Citigroup Become Partners
As ACORN goes after institutions it accuses of predatory lending such as Wells Fargo, it has formed an alliance to increase homeownership with a major New York-based bank that was previously involved in one of the largest consumer protection settlements.
S&P Cuts Coverage of Some High Cost MA Loans
Residential mortgage backed securities that include high cost Massachusetts loans will no longer be reviewed by one of the country's major ratings agencies. However, one group of mortgage originators is excepted from the pronouncement.
Predatory Laws Hurt North Carolinians, MBA Says
Although anti-predatory lending laws are designed to protect consumers, the findings from a recent study done by an industry trade group indicate this type of legislation actually hurts minority and low-income borrowers. The study showed subprime lending decreased for one state that enacted legislation while, during the same period, subprime originations in other comparable states without anti-predatory laws increased.
Rural Predatory Lending
Rural homeowners are much more likely than their urban counterparts to be placed in subprime mortgage loans with abusive prepayment penalties, according to a new study.
Bush: Kerry in Financial Industry's Pocket
Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry has rolled out a consumer protection plan that promises to curb "abusive mortgage lending."
Predatory Servicing Problems Subsiding
Stung by bad public relations, consumer complaints and a major federal crackdown on a Salt Lake City company, self-imposed reforms are addressing an industrywide problem with predatory servicing.
HOEPA Fee Trigger Adjusted
The dollar amount that triggers additional Truth in Lending disclosures has changed for next year.
Golden State Brokers Take Steps to Curb Predatory Lending
While California mortgage brokers have agreed on what predatory lending is, a fair lending advocacy group has already voiced opposition to the "first-ever" adopted industry definition. The perspective of the California broker association that formulated the definition, however, is that it is a leap toward ending such a practice.
Lending in Minority Neighborhoods Improves
A recent study showed that although minority groups continued to be slightly more likely to be denied a mortgage loan in 2003, lending in minority and poor neighborhoods skyrocketed.
FHA Loan Fraud
Five people, including mortgage broker Judy Gemmill and James Ballantyne, a loan officer, have been indicted for using predatory lending techniques to target low-income buyers for federally insured loans, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Plan to Prevent Predatory Practices
Predatory lending can happen right under your nose at your own organization. Some lenders are so large that its difficult to know if and where abusive lending might be occurring, and they need a strategy to battle predatory lending inside their own companies.
Extreme Predatory Lending
A California man has been accused by the state of extreme predatory lending practices -- leading to the revocation of his lending license.
Wells Fights Back
ACORN's public demonstrations and lawsuits against Wells Fargo are "deliberate attempts to distort and misrepresent our business practices and procedures," according to a company executive. The lender, which has been under increasing pressure by ACORN to change its lending practices, pointed to cases where it helped borrowers even as it was accused of harming them.
ACORN Continues Assault on Wells
More than 2000 rally participants will converge in Los Angeles today to protest alleged predatory practices by one of the country's biggest mortgage lenders. The rally coincides with the planned filing of a nationwide lawsuit by consumer advocate group ACORN -- which accuses the company of not informing borrowers they might qualify for a better rate.
New Century Discloses 2 Class Action Filings
Two class action lawsuits have been filed against New Century. A New Jersey case accuses the company of RESPA, TIL and state violations while another case in Illinois alleges violations of that state's high rate loan laws.
Class Action Against Wells Focuses on Illinois High Cost Loans
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo Financial on behalf of Illinois borrowers. The case, which focuses on high cost loans, challenges the federal government's preemptive authority to regulate the nation's financial institutions.
Trade Groups Differ Over Originator Licensing
While licensing is currently only required for Minnesota mortgage company owners, a new professional designation was introduced for the state's loan officers and marks another step toward industry self-regulation at a time when predatory lending and mortgage fraud is very much present. The move highlights differences between two of the state's trade groups.
CitiFinancial Settles With Fed for $70 Million
CitiFinancial has entered into an agreement with the government to settle charges that it violated federal lending requirements and tried to mislead federal examiners.
Top Ten Ways for Originators to Prevent Fraud
Every year, misinformed home buyers, often first-time purchasers or seniors, become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud. They are tempted by a few extra dollars to take shortcuts. Ethical brokers and lenders will go the extra mile to watch out for vulnerable borrowers, even at the cost of a funding a loan.
Lawyer for Predatory D.C. Firm Fined by FTC
The Federal Trade Commission has fined the legal counsel of a mortgage company for his roll in collecting payments on loans the FTC considers predatory. In addition to the fine, the attorney has been booted from the debt collection business.
US Bancorp Haunted by FirstPlus Loans
Minneapolis-based US Bancorp has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by consumers who alleged that they were charged mortgage loan fees that violated some state laws. The loans were originated and purchased from a now defunct subprime lender.
Misleading Radio Ads Leave Lender's License in Jeopardy
A South Florida mortgage lender whose owner has an extensive history in regulatory encounters may lose its license for engaging in predatory lending practices, including misleading advertisements. Some of the ads allegedly led listeners to believe negatively amortizing adjustable rate loans were fixed rate and fully amortizing.
Group Attacks Wells Fargo
Numerous members of a prominent anti-predatory lending organization will attend Wells Fargo & Co.'s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday to protest against alleged subprime predatory lending practices, and additionally propose a resolution to tie executives' multimillion-dollar pay with their efforts to end such acts.
Seniors Oppose Federal Predatory Laws
Consumer groups won't support a mortgage industry proposal to establish uniform national lending standards as long as preemption remains a key goal of the bill, a spokesman for AARP told mortgage bankers this week in Washington.
If Passed, Revised TIL Bill Would Require Federal Licensing by Brokers
The nation's largest mortgage groups called on Congress this week to scrap state and local laws against predatory lending, saying that a uniform federal framework would better protect borrowers from unscrupulous lenders and help foster competition within the industry. If the move is successful, mortgage brokers may be required to obtain federal licensing.
Parties at Odds Over Effect of High Cost Loan Ruling
Plaintiffs' attorneys and industry insiders are sharply at odds over the impact of an Illinois appellate court ruling last week that upheld a state law prohibiting mortgage lenders in the state from writing high-cost loans. The homeowners' attorneys say the court's ruling could affect thousands of homeowners while others dismiss that claim as exaggerated.
New Jersey is Latest Casualty in Predatory Legislation War
Predatory lending laws that are being implemented across the nation are touted as ways to protect subprime borrowers from unscrupulous lenders. But in at least one state such a law is making it harder for nonprime customers to qualify for a loan, according to a new study.
Subprime Group Blasts Predatory Report
Subprime mortgage lending is forecasted to grow this year, and the sector has many critics. Even the critics have critics as one annual study was bashed by a trade association defending the role of subprime lenders. Another study places the blame for disproportionate minority subprime lending on mortgage brokers.
FTC Testifies on Predatory Lending
In recent senate testimony about the subprime market, the Federal Trade Commission delivered a warning to those engaging in predatory and illegal practices as it emphasized its "vigorous" efforts to combat such acts.
Discrimination Against Whites Leads to Flagstar Settlement
A Michigan lender has settled charges that it charged fees differently to whites and nonwhites. However, unlike typical cases of this nature, it was the white borrowers that paid more.
OCC Launches 'Preemptive' Strike
A federal agency has picked a fight with the New York Attorney General, consumer groups, and others with new regulations governing nationally chartered banks.
Tennessee Study Says Minority Share of Subprime Loans Not Disproportionate
A new study found Tennessee subprime lending contributed significantly to the state's economy and defies previous reports that this type of lending is not concentrated in minority neighborhoods or within low-income groups.
Report Says Predatory Lending Issues Mostly Resolved for RMBS Issuers, Servicers
Recent subprime RMBS ratings news.
