Letters to Regulators: Letter to the OCC, FRB, and FDIC Opposing the Proposed Threshold Increase
AFREF joined a letter to the OCC, FRB, and FDIC opposing the proposed threshold increase.
Tag Archives: Mortgage Market
AFR in the News: During tenure working for banks, Tim Pawlenty thrilled Wall Street, angered consumer advocates (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
“Across party and regional lines, most people think Wall Street has too much influence in Washington. And they think that because it does,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, a consortium of labor unions, consumer groups, liberal think tanks and organizations like AARP.
AFR in the News: Congress rides to the rescue of thriving bankers (Politico)
“I don’t see the real-world problem [the bill] is trying to solve, except the problem of bankers’ not making enough money,” said Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform… [Stanley] said competition alone shouldn’t be the goal. “If we didn’t require airlines to do anything before opening up a new air route, there might be more airlines, but there might be more plane crashes too.”
Joint Letter: AFR and 16 Organizations Oppose HR 2570 — A Bill Promoting Predatory Mortgage Lending
H.R. 2570 would open the door to predatory mortgage lending by making it easier for lenders to steer homeowners into high-cost, abusive deals on certain mortgages, especially on home equity lines of credit and construction loans
Letter to Regulator: AFR, 8 organizations provide detailed recommendations to FHFA to improve language access in the mortgage industry
“The burden of interpreting financial services jargon and communicating with lenders and servicers should not rest solely on borrowers. . . . Expanding access to language services throughout the mortgage process would begin to equalize a system that currently undermines the ability of LEP borrowers to understand the complexities of their future homeownership prospects and to protect their home after purchasing it.”
Letter to Regulator: AFR, 86 organizations call for FHFA to make mortgages more accessible to people with limited English proficiency
“As dominant actors in the mortgage industry with a statutory duty to facilitate underserved communities’ access to homeownership, we welcome the FHFA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae’s consideration of steps to expand access to the mortgage market.”
AFR Statement: CFPB Merits Praise for Laying out “Principles for the Future of Loss Mitigation”
“AFR hopes that other agencies and private investors recognize the CFPB’s thoughtful recommendations and that the CFPB will remain an active participant in this important conversation.”
AFR Issue Brief: Fair Treatment of Homeowners with Limited English Proficiency
A newly released paper urges regulators to make it easier for people with limited English proficiency (LEP) to understand and navigate the financial system, especially the mortgage loan market. A companion paper tells the stories of several LEP homeowners who belatedly discovered unfavorable mortgage terms and had great difficulty securing loan modifications.
Letter to Regulators: Doing Better by Mortgage Applicants Who Are Not Fluent in English
“Allowing mortgage applicants to choose in which language they are most comfortable in communicating addresses a major problem of lenders and servicers working with limited English proficiency (LEP) populations and collecting this information through the URLA is the most comprehensive way to do so, because every mortgage borrower fills one out.”
AFR in the News: The Billionaire Banker in The Shadows (Forbes)
“In a stroke of brilliant financial maneuvering Lone Star bundled some of the mortgages into bonds and sold them to investors, immediately booking large profits… ‘Lone Star has bought these loans at a discount from the government–-in effect, they got principal reduction. But they are not passing this benefit on to homeowners or communities,’ says Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform.