Lobbyist Floats Subprime User Fee Idea

Should lenders be assessed a user fee on every subprime loan to fund tough enforcement against predatory lending and to support financial education efforts?"It's something people ought to consider," says Wright Andrews, a Washington lobbyist who has been pushing for a national anti-predatory-lending law. Mr. Andrews told a Women in Housing and Finance symposium that a self-funding mechanism could help state law enforcement efforts and educational campaigns that are designed to prevent consumers from becoming victims of predatory lenders. The partner at Butera & Andrews told MortgageWire that he has been kicking around the idea, which he said might convince state attorneys general and consumer groups to support a national lending standard that would pre-empt state predatory lending laws. Lenders are always calling for tougher enforcement of existing laws, and state AGs complain that they are forced to operate under very tight budgets, he said, adding that the money for consumer education campaigns has to come from somewhere. Mr. Andrews is the executive director of the Coalition for Fair and Affordable Lending, which represents subprime lenders. He stressed that CFAL has not taken a position on his user-fee proposal.