Exec: Chase Has Avoided 'High-Cost Loans'

An executive at Chase Home Finance says the company has stayed completely out of the "high-cost loan" market despite the fact that one of its goals is to invest more heavily in high-margin loan channels."We have never done a high-cost loan," said Sam Cooper, executive vice president and B&C home equity executive at the company, referring to a category of more highly regulated lending that various state and local laws define in nonstandard ways. Mr. Cooper said the regulations have subjected certain lenders to more scrutiny than others, leading to a business environment that is "not a level playing field." Stephen J. Rotella, Chase Home Finance's president and chief executive officer, said he would favor a national standard over the emerging patchwork of high-cost loan laws. Currently, "good lenders are being squeezed" because of existing laws, he said.