Lenders would benefit from a national regulation governing abusive lending claims that pre-empts state and local laws, according to the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association's loan servicing committee.Robert Caruso, executive vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, told attendees at the MBA's National Mortgage Servicing Conference that already there are concerns that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's decision to pre-empt local lending laws may create a competitive advantage for national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries. He also said the OCC ruling raises questions for loan servicers, such as whether the pre-emption extends to loans subserviced by another party. He urged MBA members to advocate national rules governing predatory lending issues. "We don't need to take players out of the industry because of bad legislation," he said at the conference's opening session. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.
