Legislative attacks on brokers continueMortgagePress.comSB 2452, Sen. Chris Dodd, prime borrowers, sub-prime loans, good faith and fair dealing
Sen. Dodd introduces SB 2452
U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs, has introduced the Homeownership
Preservation and Protection Act of 2007, SB 2452. "This is a very
serious effort to change the model of the mortgage origination
business," said National Association
of Mortgage Brokers Past President Joe Falk during an NAMB
teleconference on SB 2452.
If enacted, SB 2452 will:
•Establish new protections for all borrowers. It will
prohibit Mortgage Brokers from steering prime borrowers to more
expensive sub-prime loans, create a fiduciary duty for Mortgage
Brokers towards borrowers, and provide for a duty of good faith and
fair dealing toward borrowers for all lenders.
•Establish new protections for sub-prime borrowers and
borrowers who obtain non-traditional mortgages. It will require a
real analysis of the borrowers' ability to repay the loan. The bill
prohibits pre-payment penalties and yield spread premiums (YSPs) on
these loans, and requires that these loans provide a net tangible
benefit to the borrower.
•Provide strong remedies to make sure these standards are
met. It will allow state attorney generals to enforce the
provisions of the law, and does not pre-empt state law.
•Provide for limited liability for holders of a mortgage
made in violation of law, whether it is the original lender or a
subsequent investment trust. Unlike current law, which puts the
burden on the borrower to find the party responsible for causing
the harm, the legislation allows the borrower to go directly to the
current mortgage holder for a cure.
"We have a lot of work to do with regards to this bill [SB 2452]
and other issues, and it appears that this bill is very intense and
could prove to be quite grave to our industry," said NAMB
Government Affairs Committee Chair Denise Leonard.
For more information and updates on SB 2452, visit www.namb.org.
