MBA on Fraud: More Resources, Not More Laws

The Mortgage Bankers Association has released a policy paper that distinguishes the issue of mortgage fraud from predatory lending and discourages adding to or modifying the "already comprehensive" list of federal fraud statutes.The MBA's policy paper, Mortgage Fraud: Strengthening Federal and State Mortgage Fraud Prevention Efforts, recommends that Congress increase the resources available to law enforcement and help facilitate the coordination of federal and state law enforcement of financial crimes. "We do not need more federal laws to combat fraud," said Jonathan L. Kempner, president and chief executive officer of the MBA. "Instead, we need a more coordinated effort and more resources to investigate and prosecute. In addition to being illegal and costly, we know that fraud has also contributed to the recent rise in delinquencies and foreclosures, and the industry and government must step up our anti-fraud efforts to help curtail these related problems." The FBI has estimated that fraud cost mortgage lenders as much as $4.2 billion in 2006. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.