March 21, 2007 – Washington, D.C. - CDCU Leaders Testify to Congress about Predatory Lending Alternatives

On March 21, community development credit union (CDCU) leaders Rita L. Haynes, CEO of Faith Community United Credit Union in Cleveland, OH, and Ed Jacob, CEO of North Side Community Credit Union in Chicago, IL, gathered at the Rayburn House Office Building to present testimony to the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The hearing, titled “Foreclosure, Predatory Mortgage and Payday Lending in America's Cities” was convened by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to investigate predatory mortgages, payday lending, and foreclosures plaguing inner-cities and minority communities.  This hearing is the first in a series of hearings Kucinich plans to hold that focus on issues afflicting urban America.

For more information about the March 21 hearing, please click here.

Federation Testifies To New York State Assembly on Predatory Lending

On October 5, 2006, Rafael O. Morales of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (the Federation) today presented testimony urging the New York State Assembly to strengthen the state’s consumer protection laws, particularly the laws pertaining to predatory lenders.  Morales, the Federation’s Communications Officer, spoke before the Assembly Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection and the Assembly Standing Committee on Banks on behalf of the New York State Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (the NY CDFI Coalition), which the Federation co-founded in 1995.

New York State has some of the strictest consumer protections and anti-usury laws in the country, and the Coalition’s testimony urged the Assembly to promote and expand these protections.  At the hearing, Morales pointed out that additional protections would help to curb payday and predatory lenders who circumvent state legislation by using Internet offers and placard promotions to lead consumers to out-of-state lenders who do not have to comply with state regulations.

To learn more, and to view the testimony text, please click here.