Cooper targets subprime lending

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:39:37 -0500

Attorney General Roy Cooper is continuing his fight against predatory lending.

But this time, he's targeting the U.S. Congress instead of the lenders, Titan Barksdale reports.

Cooper announced today that a bill pending in the U.S. Senate would undercut a similar state law that strengthens protections for North Carolina homeowners against predatory lenders.

He's calling on Congress to strengthen the bill and eliminate any provisions that preempt North Carolina's predatory lending laws.

U.S. Reps. Brad Miller and Mel Watt and others co-sponsored the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act to address the amount of homes lost to foreclosures. The bill, which has passed the U.S. House, prohibits lenders from pushing borrowers into loans they can't afford.

In a letter to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Cooper writes that the bill contains provisions that eliminate some rights homeowners have under state law.

Mortgage brokers back the bill saying it offers adequate consumer protection, and standardizes lending laws.

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Cooper targets subprime lending