Pew Touts Investment to Curb B&C Abuses

The Pew Charitable Trusts has announced a $1 million investment with the Center for Responsible Lending aimed at curbing abusive subprime home loans by strengthening underwriting standards.Pew noted that federal financial regulators are poised to issue guidance on subprime lending, but that more than half of subprime mortgages are issued by lenders not subject to such guidance. "With Pew's support, the Center for Responsible Lending will work to protect all subprime borrowers by urging other federal and state policymakers with jurisdiction and industry leaders to adopt basic, much-needed standards," the organization said. Pew said its two-year investment in CRL is intended to strengthen underwriting standards by pushing lenders to verify a borrower's income and ensure that borrowers can repay the loan after scheduled interest rate increases. The organization can be found on the Web at http://www.pewtrusts.org.