ADVISORY/National Association of Realtors to Hold Press Conference on Community Choice in Real Estate Act

Business Wire, Dec 12, 2001

Business Editors

ADVISORY...for Thursday (Dec. 13)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

   WHO:   U.S. Representative Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
          U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.),
          NAR President Martin Edwards Jr.

   WHAT:  Press conference on the Community Choice in Real Estate Act
          of 2001, H.R. 3424

   WHEN:  Thursday, December 13, at 2:30 p.m.

   WHERE: U.S. Capitol, Room HC-6

U.S. Representatives Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) and Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) as well as National Association of Realtors(R) President Martin Edwards Jr. will hold a news conference Thursday, December 13, at 2:30 p.m. in Room HC-6 of the U.S. Capitol to announce growing support for H.R. 3424, the Community Choice in Real Estate Act of 2001. This legislation would prohibit large banking conglomerates from entering real estate brokerage or property management. Almost 50 cosponsors have signed onto the bill since it was introduced last week.

Big banks are seeking permission to sell and manage real estate via a proposed rule before the Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury Department. However, the proposed rule is contrary to what Congress intended when it passed the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. This bill clarifies Congressional intent and amends the Bank Holding Company Act to preclude any such action by the Federal Reserve or Treasury.

NAR announced its opposition to the proposed regulation in December 2000, following the decision by the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors to seek public comment on the proposal. The association recently delivered close to 50,000 letters to President Bush asking him to stop the regulation. This is in addition to the 100,000 protest letters to Congress, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve that Realtors(R) generated last spring.

NAR opposes allowing large banking conglomerates to enter real estate brokerage and property management because it will lead to higher costs to consumers, large scale consolidation in the real estate industry, and potential conflicts of interest should banks be able to steer homebuyers to their own insurance and loan products.

The National Association of Realtors(R), "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing approximately 800,000 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Information about NAR is available at http://www.realtor.org. This and other press releases are posted in the Web site's "News Release" section.

REALTORS is a registered collective membership mark which may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the National Association Of Realtors and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics.