ACORN Submits Comments Opposing OCC's Proposal to Preempt All State Regulations of National Banks and their Operating Subsidiaries.

Business Editors/National Desks

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2003

ACORN has submitted comments opposing the OCC's proposal to preempt all state regulations of national banks and their operating subsidiaries.

ACORN President Maude Hurd says "the proposal amounts to issuing lenders a license to prey on vulnerable borrowers through national banks or their subsidiaries."

"The OCC says that no national banks are engaging in predatory lending," Hurd continued. "We disagree. Just ask Nina Matta of Minnesota, or Sherita Coker of Kansas."

"The OCC says they have and will protect borrowers from abusive loans. We disagree. The OCC seems not even to have asked any tough questions about what Wells Fargo Home Mortgages subprime lending looks like, much less taken any action to end their abusive practices."

"We are disappointed by this inaction, but not surprised," she continued, "because we do not believe the tools the OCC has at its disposal are adequate to protect borrowers against abusive loans. The laws against unfair and deceptive practices they say they will enforce just don't actually work to prevent predatory lending - if they did the problem would have been solved long ago, since unfair and deceptive practices are illegal already. It's especially hard to imagine how the OCC -- an agency most people facing predatory loans have never heard of -- believes they do, or can monitor evidence of fraud these borrowers may be experiencing."

"Still, as long as the agency argues that it is the only proper regulator of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, we will have to demand that they do the job."

"What we need is for state laws designed to protect homeowners to apply to all lenders, and for state regulators to be able to enforce them."

Copies of comments available.

ACORN is an acronym, and each letter should be capitalized. ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, with over 150,000 member families organized into 700 neighborhood chapters in 51 cities across the country. Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues of concern to our members. Our priorities include: better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building community organizations that have the power to win changes -- through direct action, negotiation, legislation, and voter participation. ACORN's website is at http://www.acorn.org. To receive updates on ACORN's work every two weeks go to http://acorn.org/getinvolved