Fed Mulling Subprime Escrow Mandate

The Federal Reserve Board is close to proposing that all subprime mortgages should have escrow accounts, according to a Fed governor who is working on updating the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act regulations.The failure to escrow taxes and insurance can lead to payment shock, Randall Kroszner told a Consumer Bankers Association fair-lending conference. "It is common practice for these payments to be escrowed in prime markets, and I see no reason that escrows should not be standard practice in the subprime markets, too," Mr. Kroszner said. The Fed is expected to issue proposed changes to the HOEPA regulations before the end of the year. Mr. Kroszner said the Fed also plans to issue proposals by the year-end that ban several deceptive advertising practices and require important consumer disclosures earlier in the mortgage process so consumer can shop around and compare loan products.