Lenders: OTS Efforts to Stop Predators May Miss Target

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The Office of Thrift Supervision's effort to curb predatory lending has thrift executives worried that legitimate subprime lending could be stigmatized. "While we feel a strong need to curb abusive lending practices ... we nevertheless are concerned that a broad brush approach can have an inappropriate impact on nonpredatory lenders," David S. Madsen, group senior vice president of $41.5 million-asset World Savings Bank of Oakland, Calif., said in a letter to the agency. The agency is considering ways to close a federal loophole that allows state-regulated nonbank mortgage lenders to avoid tough state subprime lending laws. In April the OTS issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that could lead to reform of the Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act, which was passed in 1982 to stimulate lending through variable-rate mortgages and other alternative financing. The parity act lets state-regulated finance companies choose to comply with state or federal lending regulations. In states with strong laws against predatory lending, some lenders are opting for the more lenient federal rules. Mr. Madsen urged the agency "to consider the impact of any modification to its regulations on nonpredatory insured depository lenders offering legitimate products." Though no specific proposal is on the table, the OTS said it could amend regulations under the parity law, increase enforcement of current rules, or recommend abolishing the act to let state laws prevail. "We need to find the best way to get at the part of the predatory lending problem that we have some ability to deal with on a regulatory basis, while making sure we do not stop innovation," OTS director Ellen Seidman said Tuesday in an interview. Charles R. Lee, vice president of $5.6 billion-asset MidFirst Bank of Oklahoma City, told the OTS that better implementation of the current regulations would be the best route. "MidFirst …