Fed Nominees Back Subprime Rule

Federal Reserve Board nominees Elizabeth Duke and Larry Klane said they support the Fed's efforts to draft a rule that would provide better consumer protections for subprime borrowers and ban certain unfair lending practices."If confirmed, I will put my full energy" into using "all the arrows in the regulatory quiver to protect consumers under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act," Mr. Klane told the Senate Banking Committee during a confirmation hearing. The Fed is expected to issue a proposed HOEPA rule before the end of the year. Ms. Duke is a Virginia community banker, and Mr. Klane is a top executive at the credit company Capital One, which has a mortgage subsidiary that makes prime and alternative-A loans. President Bush nominated the two bankers to fill two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board. The Fed can be found online at http://www.federalreserve.gov.