Friday, February 15, 2008

Predatory Lending: Why it is President Bush’s Fault. By Geniusofdespair

It seems someone agrees with Gimleteye: The Governor of New York.

Gimleteye always heads for the top of the food chain when reporting. I report from the bottom up. I don’t always agree but I am eager to hear the point of view from the top down.

The opinion article in the Miami Herald today confirms what Gimleteye has been saying all along. If ever there was a must-read, this is it: PREDATORY LENDING: Partners in crime.

Author, New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer (wish he were running for President) said:

"Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers."

Spitzer also said:

"Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye. Let me explain:"


"The administration accomplished this feat through an obscure federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC has been in existence since the Civil War. Its mission is to ensure the fiscal soundness of national banks. For 140 years, the OCC examined the books of national banks to make sure they were balanced, an important but uncontroversial function. But a few years ago, for the first time in its history, the OCC was used as a tool against consumers.

In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions pre-empting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative against national banks.

The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.

But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In fact, when my office opened an investigation in 2005 of possible discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, including national banks, the OCC filed a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation against the national banks."
(hit the link to the Herald to read the entire article – you should read it Bushites).

6 comments:

Geniusofdespair said...

OCC INFO:
Comptroller of the Currency
Washington, DC 20219-0001
Location:

Independence Square
250 E Street, SW
Washington, DC
Phone:

202-874-5000
TDD202-927-3275


Comptroller of the Currency

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Comptroller of the Currency

John C. Dugan

202-874-4900

Chief of Staff and Public Affairs

John G. Walsh

202-874-4880

Executive Assistant to the Comptroller

Nancy K. Jones

202-874-4900

FDIC Liaison
(Comptroller of the Currency)

William A. Rowe

202-874-5030

Chief Counsel

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First Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel

Julie L. Williams

202-874-5200

Special Assistant

Diane Page

202-874-4492

Assistant Chief Counsel

Amy Friend

202-874-0477

Assistant Chief Counsel

Vacant

202-874-5200

Executive Assistant

Paul E. Chism

202-874-4645

Information Systems Manager

James L. Craig, Jr.

202-874-4491

Deputy Chief Counsel

James F. E. Gillespie

202-874-4703

Special Assistant

Jonathan Fink

202-874-4678

Deputy Chief Counsel

Daniel P. Stipano

202-874-4635

Senior Counsel for BSA/AML

James Vivenzio

202-874-4632

Director, Administrative and Internal Law

David C. Kane

202-874-0102

Director, Bank Activities and Structure

Eric Thompson

202-874-4653

Director, Community and Consumer Law

Michael S. Bylsma

202-874-5750

Director, Enforcement and Compliance

Richard C. Stearns

202-874-4823

Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities

Karen O. Solomon

202-874-4638

Assistant Director and Counselor for International Activities

Nancy Michaleski

202-874-4701

Director, Litigation

Horace G. Sneed

202-874-4826

Director, Securities and Corporate Practices

Ellen Broadman

202-874-4504

Deputy Comptroller, Community Affairs

Barry R. Wides

202-874-4677

Special Advisor for Community Affairs

Karen Bellesi

202-874-4847

Director, Community Development

E. Matthew Quigley

202-874-3814

Deputy Comptroller, Licensing

Lawrence E. Beard

202-874-4999

Director, Licensing Activities

Beverly Evans

202-874-4934

Chief National Bank Examiner

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Senior Deputy Comptroller and
Chief National Bank Examiner

Emory Wayne Rushton

202-874-2870

Executive Assistant

Malloy T. Harris, Jr.

202-874-4851

Special Assistant

Christina E. Benson

202-874-5373

Deputy Comptroller, Compliance Policy

Ann F. Jaedicke

202-874-4596

Director, Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

John Wagner

202-874-6073

Deputy Comptroller, Credit & Market Risk

Kathryn E. Dick

202-874-4592

Director, Commercial Credit Risk

Kurt Wilhelm

202-874-4479

Director, Market Risk

Kerri Corn

202-874-4364

Director, Retail Credit Risk

Susan Eckert

202-874-5170

Deputy Comptroller, Operational Risk

Mark L. O'Dell

202-874-4316

Director, Bank Information Technology

Aida Plaza Carter

202-874-4593

Chief Accountant

Zane D. Blackburn

202-874-4944

Director, Operational Risk Policy

Karen M. Kwilosz

202-874-9457

Deputy Comptroller, Regulatory Policy

Kevin J. Bailey

202-874-4938

Director, Capital Policy

Tommy Snow

202-874-5070

Director, Compliance Policy

Calvin R. Hagins

202-874-3286

Chief of Staff and Public Affairs

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Chief of Staff and Public Affairs

John G. Walsh

202-874-4880

Deputy to the Chief of Staff

William Rowe

202-874-5030

Director, Enterprise Governance

Ronald A. Lindhart

202-874-4540

Deputy Comptroller, Public Affairs

Robert M. Garsson, Jr.

202-874-4294

Special Advisor to the Deputy Comptroller for Public Affairs

Bryan Hubbard

202-874-5307

Senior Advisor for External Outreach and Minority Affairs

Glenda B. Cross

202-874-4811

Special Advisor for Executive Communications

Jesse Stiller

202-874-5262

Special Advisor for Policy Coordination

Cynthia Lasker

202-874-3883

Senior Advisor for Banking Relations

Gregory C. Golembe

202-874-4990

Director, Communications

Oliver A. Robinson

202-874-4700

Director, Congressional Liaison

Vacant

202-874-4840

Director, Press Relations

Kevin Mukri

202-874-5348

Executive Officer for Leadership, Learning and Workplace Fairness

Mark A. Nishan

202-874-4050

Executive Assistant

Ralph E. DeLeon

202-874-5306

Deputy Comptroller, Continuing Education

Cheryl F. Davis

202-874-4570

Director, CE Operations

Charley W. Woods

202-874-4570

Director, Educational Program Development

John Mihall

202-874-4570

Director, Workplace Fairness and Equal Opportunity

Linda L. Batts

202-874-5360

Committee on Bank Supervision

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Senior Deputy Comptroller and
Chief National Bank Examiner - CNBE

Emory Wayne Rushton

202-874-2870

Senior Deputy Comptroller - LBS

Douglas W. Roeder

202-874-4890

Senior Deputy Comptroller - M/CBS

Timothy W. Long

202-874-5020

Director, Supervisory Program Management Office

Lorey Hoffman

202-488-6940

Information Technology Services

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Chief Information Officer

Bajinder N. Paul

202-874-4480

Executive Assistant

Stuart Kieffer

202-874-1393

Chief Information Security Officer, Information Security

Roger Mahach

202-874-4480

Director, IT Governance, Policy and Planning

Cassandra Harkless

202-874-5052

Deputy CIO, Information Systems

James DeCoster

202-874-5410

IT Portfolio Manager, Operations Delivery Group

Tony Curington (Acting)

202-874-6559

IT Portfolio Manager, Supervisions Delivery Group

Robert Wallace (Acting)

202-874-7462

Director, Enterprise Information Services Group

Vance Kane

202-874-5105

Deputy CIO, Technical Infrastructure

Richard Gordon

301-324-3180

Assistant Deputy CIO, Data Center and Server Operations

Paul Marshman

301-324-3231

Assistant Deputy CIO, Desktop Engineering

John Wahl

202-874-5126

Assistant Deputy CIO, Infrastructure Compliance

Vanessa Young

301-541-2507

Assistant Deputy CIO, Technical Support

Denise Lancaster

202-874-4600

Telecommunications Officer, Telecommunications and Messaging

John Gerding

301-499-6277

Data Center
Landover, MD 20785-4788


301-499-6277
TDD 301-324-3278

International and Economic Affairs

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Senior Deputy Comptroller

Mark Levonian

202-874-5010

Executive Assistant

Inga S. Swanner

202-874-4430

Deputy Comptroller,
Global Banking and Financial Analysis

Nancy A. Wentzler

202-874-4730

Director, Economic Outlook/Bank Condition

Arthur J. McMahon

202-874-4730

Director, International Banking and Finance

Teresa Rutledge

202-874-4730

Director, Statistics and Industry Analysis

Deborah Kligman

202-874-5240

Deputy Comptroller,
Modeling and Analysis

Vacant

202-874-5230

Director, Policy Analysis

David H. Nebhut

202-874-5220

Director, Risk Analysis

Michael Carhill

202-874-5250

Large Bank Supervision

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Senior Deputy Comptroller

Douglas W. Roeder

202-874-4890

Senior Advisor

Nanette G. Goulet (Nan)

202-874-5224

Executive Assistant

Vacant

Deputy Comptroller,
Large Bank Supervision

Grace E. Dailey

202-874-4610

Deputy Comptroller,
Large Bank Supervision

Delora Ng Jee

202-874-4610

Deputy Comptroller,
Large Bank Supervision

Joseph H. Evers

202-874-4610

Director, Large Bank Supervision

Larry R. Winter

202-874-4610

Mid-Size/Community Bank Supervision

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Senior Deputy Comptroller

Timothy W. Long

202-874-5020

Executive Assistant

Elizabeth Price

202-874-5227

Senior Advisor

Donelle Ward

202-874-6195

Deputy Comptroller, Mid-Size and Credit Card Bank Supervision

Jennifer C. Kelly

202-874-0685

Senior Basel Policy Liaison

Fred Finke

202-874-4468

Assistant Deputy Comptroller, Mid-Size Banks

William D. Haas

312-360-8840

Assistant Deputy Comptroller, Mid-Size Banks

Robert P. Sejnoha

312-360-8840

Deputy Comptroller, Special Supervision

John W. Quill

202-874-4450

Director, Special Supervision

Ronald G. Schneck

202-874-5133

Director, Supervisory Information

Don Titzman

202-874-4429

Deputy Comptroller,
Central District

Bert A. Otto

312-360-8802

Deputy Comptroller,
Northeastern District

Toney Bland

212-790-4001

Deputy Comptroller,
Southern District

Gilbert D. Barker
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214-720-7005

Deputy Comptroller,
Western District

Kay E. Kowitt

720-475-7603

Office of Management

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Senior Deputy Comptroller and
Chief Financial Officer

Thomas R. Bloom

202-874-5080

Executive Assistant

Robin Needleman

202-874-5080

Senior Advisor for Resource Management

Roy C. Madsen

202-874-4786

Director, Acquisition Management

Wes McKee

202-874-5040

Chief Privacy Officer

Gayle Rucker

202-874-5080

Director, Real Estate and Capital Assets

Peter D. Prendergast

202-874-5390

Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Management

Gary Crane

202-874-5140

Director, Financial and Operational Accounting

Thomas Marcou

202-874-5140

Director, Policy and Treasurer

Deborah Sweet

202-874-5140

Deputy Comptroller, Human Resources

Patricia J. Pointer

202-874-4767

Director, Labor and Employee Relations

Steve Sharfstein

202-874-5438

Director, Compensation and Benefits

Ben Katcoff

202-874-4490

Director, Recruitment, Diversity and Retention

Joyce Cofield

202-874-3891

Director, Employment, Policy Operations and Services

Beth Elliott

202-874-4916

Director, Program Management Office

Scott McClure

202-874-5486

Ombudsman

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Ombudsman

Samuel P. Golden

713-336-4350

Senior Advisor

Maria D. Olguin

713-336-4350

Executive Assistant to the Ombudsman

Patricia A. Limbrick

713-336-4350

Deputy Ombudsman Customer Assistance

Craig D. Stone

713-336-4350

Assistant Ombudsman

Ismael F. Arsuaga (Mike)

713-336-4350

Assistant Ombudsman

Sharon Gilstrap Taylor

713-336-4350

Anonymous said...

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Geniusofdespair said...

and your point is??????????????????????????

Anonymous said...

Elliot Spitzer is proven wrong about five minutes after he opens his mouth to quote him and use him as an example of anything believable hurts your own credibility.

This guy backtracks more than Billary.

Anonymous said...

And he looks like Pee Wee Herman...

Anonymous said...

Governor Spitzer ignores the fact that state-regulated brokers and lenders made up the vast majority ofthe abuses and originated the vast majority of subprime loans that are now the worst performing loans. The feds had no role in preventing the states from taking action in this area. See Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan's response http://www.occ.gov/ftp/release/2008-16.htm.