Research

Louise Golden's backyard is a showplace. She planted everything with her own hands: crepe myrtle, pink peonies, azaleas, and roses of four colors. She and her husband, Stanley, bought the split-level house on Kepner Court in Lanham, Maryland, in 1980. She loved the place from the start, because of its roomy kitchen, and because of the possibilities she saw in...

The auto dealer lobby successfully fought to receive a special exemption in the House from the rules of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the financial reform bill even when the dealers act as creditors and brokers on car loans. But fair, honest and ethical competition requires a level playing field, as well as a fair and consistent system...

An Examination of Credit Card Late Fees Read the entire "A Just Fee or Just a Fee?" 13 page research report. Brief background on the report plus report findings: The CARD Act of 2009 brought strong credit card reform to the industry and benefits to cardholders, but the penalty late fee issue remains to be addressed. Congress assigned the Federal...

Reconciling H.R 4173 and S. 3217 During recent years, regulators stood by and allowed the most costly reckless lending in history, largely because they were heavily influenced by the very businesses they were supposed to oversee. Lax regulation has already cost trillions of dollars. For the final financial reform bill, these four issues will be vital in protecting taxpayers from...

To ensure that the CFPA is independent of the industry it is trying to regulate, Congress must ensure that the funding source remains independent of political pressure.

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency should be headed by a strong, independent-minded director, rather than a five-member commission, to ensure that the Consumer Financial Protection Agency is free from industry influence and costly delays.

The Snowe-Pryor Senate financial reform bill proposal would create a layer of bureaucracy that is redundant and dangerous. This language would prioritize small businesses over families, taxpayers and other key stakeholders.

Three servicers. Three California homeowners. Three avoidable foreclosures. Three Ways SB 1275 Would Help Stop the Foreclosures that can be Stopped Patricia and Manuel Mondoy, Hayward, Calif. Under SB 1275, GMAC would have been required to complete its evaluation of Patricia and Manuel M.'s loan modification before recording a Notice of Default. If GMAC had completed the evaluation process before...

Summary of SB 1275 (As Amended 5-18-10) Section 2923.4: New Notice for Delinquent Borrowers on Foreclosure Process, Rights and Obligations Requires a state agency to create and translate a notice for delinquent borrowers that describes a borrower's rights and obligations, and outlines what to expect in the foreclosure process. (Specific text included in bill). Section 2923.5: Pre-NOD Determination for Loan...

The Problem SB 1275 Addresses Foreclosures Continue at Record Pace: The foreclosure crisis continues to rage in California, with little sign of easing in the near future. Nearly 200,000 foreclosures were completed in California last year, and are on pace to exceed that number in 2010. At the same time, the main federal loan modification program (HAMP) has produced fewer...