Press Releases

The Federal Reserve Board has repeatedly tried since September to contain the foreclosure crisis damage that's spreading rapidly into the general economy. It has lowered key interest rates a half dozen times and, to quote the Wall Street Journal, "undertaken the broadest expansions of its lending authority since the 1930s." The most dramatic action, however, came last weekend as the...

We're glad the Administration finally recognizes that the subprime crisis was caused by reckless lenders who've been inadequately supervised by federal regulators. The President's Working Group on Financial Markets recognizes the problem was caused largely by "weak government oversight," which allowed loan originators to make loans without regard to whether families could afford to repay them. This diagnosis is correct...

The housing, economic, and mortgage rescue proposal from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is extremely helpful and the Center for Responsible Lending commends him for taking a lead on this issue. His plan recognizes much more help is needed for victims of the subprime mess than is now available. While we welcome any and all plans that help...

The Institute for Foreclosure Legal Assistance today announced it has awarded $6.5 million in grants to 27 legal-aid offices in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The grants are the first step in a multi-year program to bolster local groups nationwide who are assisting the growing legion of borrowers facing foreclosure. The Institute, a project of the Center for...

Yesterday the mortgage lending industry successfully stopped a Senate bill, "The Foreclosure Prevention Act" from moving forward. This bill (S. 2636) includes key provisions that would prevent well over 1/2 million foreclosures and avoid property declines of $200 billion. "While many members of Congress are working hard to prevent foreclosures, some members of the lending industry are preventing legislation that...

For the third time in four months, the Treasury Department has announced a plan ("Project Lifeline") to encourage the lending industry to do more to prevent an alarming level of foreclosures. The Department's proposals underscore the serious economic damage triggered by reckless lending in the subprime market, which has produced the worst housing decline since the Great Depression. We at...

New legislation introduced today by House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) curbs some of the most abusive credit card lending practices, consumer groups said. "This legislation is an important step forward in eliminating the worst credit card tricks and traps that sap billions of dollars from...

Recently the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released an analysis showing that during the third quarter of 2007, mortgage lenders initiated foreclosures seven times more frequently than they modified mortgages, and 13 times more frequently than they modified problematic adjustable-rate subprime loans. In addition, CRL estimated that under the Treasury Department's voluntary plan, only 3% of homeowners (118,200) with adjustable-rate...

Read our Analysis>> An updated analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending shows the Treasury Department's plan involving streamlined loan modifications of distressed mortgages will prevent only 118,200 foreclosures—about 3% of the outstanding subprime mortgages with adjustable interest rates that are causing the current market turmoil. This analysis shows the Treasury plan, plus existing lender modifications, barely make a dent...

As the economy continues to suffer from fall-out from subprime mortgage foreclosures, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) is accused of skipping legally required steps to remove people from their homes in Minnesota. Today a group of Hennepin County homeowners with subprime mortgages filed a class action lawsuit to stop illegal foreclosures by MERS, a Virginia-based company. The suit alleges...