Protection from overlapping predatory lending laws under consideration

Northwestern Financial Review, Sep 1, 2001

Sen. Paul Sarbanes, (D-Md.), said he is willing to consider legislation that would protect mortgage lenders from predatory lending laws that are being enacted by state and local governments. The Senate Banking Committee chairman raised the prospect of a federal pre-emption at the conclusion of two days of hearings on predatory lending.

But he made it clear that his first priority is to reach an agreement on tough federal standards to protect consumers from abusive lending practices. The mortgage industry supports a federal law that will stop the proliferation of anti-predatory laws that are being enacted by state and local governments. These laws and ordinances are making it expensive for lenders to operate in places like Chicago, where the city, the county and the state of Illinois have separate anti-predatory lending requirements.