D.C. Speaks: Seidman's OTS Hails Cavalry in Predator Fight

Heller, Michele, American Banker

Ellen Seidman's crusade to curb predatory lending is gaining traction. The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the smallest of the four bank supervisory agencies, has led the regulators' campaign to quash lending practices they deem systemically risky, legally questionable, and ethically unsound. "I'm pleased to have been out there early. But I'm even happier that other people have really picked it up and folks like the Federal Reserve Board, which has a critically important role, are now moving," Ms. Seidman said in an interview this week. On Monday the central bank announced plans for three public hearings to discuss how the Home Ownership Equity and Protection Act of 1994, known as HOEPA, can be used to stop abuses -- the first step toward fulfilling a promise made in May to review its rule-writing authority to curb predatory lending practices. The 1994 law subjects lenders making high-cost home-secured loans to price limits and disclosure …

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Publication information: Article title: D.C. Speaks: Seidman's OTS Hails Cavalry in Predator Fight. Contributors: Heller, Michele - Author. Magazine title: American Banker. Volume: 165. Issue: 134 Publication date: July 14, 2000. Page number: 1. © 2009 SourceMedia, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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