load of crap On Sep 25, 5:12 am, "mike532 [ Republicans for Obama ]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Predatory Lenders' Partner in CrimeHow the Bush Administration Stopped > the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers > ยป > By Eliot Spitzer > Thursday, February 14, 2008; Page A25 > > Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in > consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of > predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders. Some were > misrepresenting the terms of loans, making loans without regard to > consumers' ability to repay, making loans with deceptive "teaser" > rates that later ballooned astronomically, packing loans with > undisclosed charges and fees, or even paying illegal kickbacks. These > and other practices, we noticed, were having a devastating effect on > home buyers. In addition, the widespread nature of these practices, if > left unchecked, threatened our financial markets. > > Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the > Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect > American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align > itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers. > > Predatory lending was widely understood to present a looming national > crisis. This threat was so clear that as New York attorney general, I > joined with colleagues in the other 49 states in attempting to fill > the void left by the federal government. Individually, and together, > state attorneys general of both parties brought litigation or entered > into settlements with many subprime lenders that were engaged in > predatory lending practices. Several state legislatures, including New > York's, enacted laws aimed at curbing such practices. > > What did the Bush administration do in response? Did it reverse course > and decide to take action to halt this burgeoning scourge? As > Americans are now painfully aware, with hundreds of thousands of > homeowners facing foreclosure and our markets reeling, the answer is a > resounding no. > > Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, > it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent > states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which > the federal government was turning a blind eye. > > Let me explain: The administration accomplished this feat through an > obscure federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the > Currency (OCC). The OCC has been in existence since the Civil War. Its > mission is to ensure the fiscal soundness of national banks. For 140 > years, the OCC examined the books of national banks to make sure they > were balanced, an important but uncontroversial function. But a few > years ago, for the first time in its history, the OCC was used as a > tool against consumers. > > In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC > invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal > opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby > rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that > prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection > laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so > egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, > and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new > rules. > > But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even > slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In > fact, when my office opened an investigation of possible > discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, the OCC filed > a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation. > > Throughout our battles with the OCC and the banks, the mantra of the > banks and their defenders was that efforts to curb predatory lending > would deny access to credit to the very consumers the states were > trying to protect. But the curbs we sought on predatory and unfair > lending would have in no way jeopardized access to the legitimate > credit market for appropriately priced loans. Instead, they would have > stopped the scourge of predatory lending practices that have resulted > in countless thousands of consumers losing their homes and put our > economy in a precarious position. > > When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and > recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent > homeowners, the Bush administration will not be judged favorably. The > tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged > as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in > their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power > of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state > legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on > the side of consumers. > > The writer is governor of New York. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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