
Center for Responsible Lending Action Alert

At Stake Now: Fair Lending, Tax Dollars & States' Freedom

How much more can taxpayers take? The financial crisis has cost Americans well over a trillion dollars, and multiple trillions world-wide. You would think it’s a no-brainer to make sure we never repeat this fiasco, but banks are lobbying hard to cripple sensible state laws and preserve weak oversight in Washington.

Why Does This Matter?
Hidden fees, kickbacks, and exorbitant interest rates thrive when oversight is loose and scattered, as it is today. We’re not looking for special protections, but rather accountability, transparency, and simple decency in lending practices. The interests of banks have received constant attention. A Consumer Financial Protection Agency would provide dedicated focus on safety and soundness for ordinary people—who drive 70% of the economy.

The House Financial Services Committee will take action this Thursday to move ahead with a bill to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The financial industry will resist this mightily. Please take a minute now to tell your Representative that the CFPA is crucial to restore confidence and stability in our economy.

Call the House switchboard at (202) 225-3121, and ask to be connected to the Congressional members for your state. (To get the names of your Representatives, go here http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html.)

A key issue in this debate is whether states will remain free to handle local lending problems. We need strong minimum standards set in Washington, but states also need the ability to take fast action, when necessary, to stop bad lending practices in their own back yards.

Not surprisingly, banks oppose states’ rights to make sensible lending rules, even though there are numerous examples of nationwide businesses—for example, insurance companies—that operate under state requirements. Banks know that they will have more influence if they keep all the power in Washington. After all, it’s much easier to lobby successfully in one location than in 51.

We can’t out-spend the banks, but we can out-number them. Please let your Representative hear from you today. Please call (202) 225-3121 now.

When you reach your Representative, here are two key points to make:

We need the Consumer Financial Protection Agency: a streamlined, focused watchdog that would look out for the financial interests of ordinary people.
I am concerned that there has been too much preemption of state laws. We must protect the freedom of states to take action against unfair or abusive lending practices.

And if you haven’t yet signed our petition, please add your name to the growing list of people who are speaking out for greater fairness, safety and transparency in our financial system. Thanks for your support!

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About the Center for Responsible Lending The Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to protecting homeownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices. CRL is affiliated with Self-Help, one of the nation's largest community development lenders. Copyright 2009 Center for Responsible Lending. All Rights Reserved.