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Condemning the cynical attempt by the predatory lending industry to undermine the authority of state and local elected officials to effectively respond to the epidemic of predatory lending practices ravaging communities throughout the nation and calling upon Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation to strongly oppose this dangerous legislative assault against state and local anti-predatory lending legislation.
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WHEREAS, Predatory lending abuses that take away homeowners' equity and lock borrowers into high interest rates pervade the subprime mortgage market (as evidenced most recently by predatory lending settlements entered into by two of the very largest subprime lenders) and Fannie Mae estimates that up to half of all borrowers of subprime loans (grade "B" and "C") should have qualified for grade "A" loans with substantially lower rates and fees; and
WHEREAS, The targeting of subprime loans to people of color, low- and moderate-income families, and senior citizens costs those who can least afford it billions of dollars each year and reverses hard-won progress that has been made on reducing the racial homeownership gaps; and
WHEREAS, After conducting a comprehensive investigation into the nature of abusive mortgage lending practices in Philadelphia, this Council unanimously enacted our nation's strongest anti-predatory lending ordinance on April 5, 2001 with Republicans joining Democrats in a clear and unmistakable message to the financial industry: "You have utterly failed to police yourselves and through your failure to act you have given a green light to the unscrupulous predators to strip the wealth from the hard working citizens of our City." The only proper and credible response to this crisis was swift and decisive government action; and
WHEREAS, Inspired by Philadelphia's bold legislative approach to combating predatory lending, numerous states and localities have responded to the crisis by protecting their reside...
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