Return to Current Issue  | The Federal Trade Commission Agreed to the Following NPA Demands

In a major win for National People's Action, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreed to a series of seven hearings across the country that will jumpstart the investigation and punishment of loan sharks in NPA communities.

Loan sharks mortgage companies, or "predatory lenders," are taking people's homes away through deceptive and destructive lending practices. Banks own some of these companies; while others are independent. Up until now, these loan sharks have been ignoring regulations and flying below the radar of the law.

The agreement with the FTC, made during the predatory lending workshop at NPA's 30th annual conference, has the federal regulating agency committed to attending public meetings on predatory lending and investigating these destructive lending practices in partnership with community groups in seven cities over the next 12 months.

The groups who won these meetings in the workshop at NPA are:
· Central Illinois Organizing Project
· Sunflower Community Action, Wichita, KS
· Des Moines Citizens for Community Improvement, Des Moines, IA
· Communities United for Action, Cincinnati, OH
· South Austin Coalition Community Council and Nobel Neighbors, Chicago, IL
· Syracuse United Neighbors, Syracuse, NY
· East Side Organizing Project, Cleveland, OH

Ron Isaac, assistant to the director, Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC attended the workshop and after pressure from the crowd agreed to the seven hearings and additional demands.

"I told him to remember we are partners in this, not enemies," said SACCC leader George Lawson. "We knew his job. We were holding him to 'just do your job' and make us a partner in it," Lawson added.

Lawson gave Isaac, on behalf of NPA, Sherlock Homes' gear including a special hat, pipe and magnifying glass urging Isaac and the FTC to start a full-fledged investigation into predatory lenders and their many destructive practices.

Leaders from the NPA groups gave heart-wrenching testimony about their personal experience with predatory lenders and how these loan sharks affect neighborhoods. While Isaac was visibly shaken by these stories, members of the workshop and audience had to pin him down with the demand for a "yes or no" answer.

Isaac eventually agreed that the FTC would attend the hearings and would report back at the next NPA conference.

Related Information: The Federal Trade Commission Agreed to the Following NPA Demands