A U.S. house subcommittee hearing on subprime and predatory lending was the talk of the town on Tuesday as regulators, industry experts, and consumer advocacy groups gathered in front of lawmakers to testify.

While most of the presenters at the hearing recognized a need to curtail the effects of irresponsible lending, experts and consumer groups expressed differing views when discussing what types of regulations should be implemented and the extent of their impact.
A press release from the National Credit Union Administration) says its Chairman JoAnn Johnson focused part of her presentation on the value of some non-traditional products.
“NCUA supports risk-based lending programs as a tool to reach out to all credit union members, where the programs are measured and meet supervisory expectations,” said Johnson. “To that end, NCUA has an interest in ensuring these loans are prudently underwritten and clearly understood by borrowers wherever they are offered.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) urged congress to pass legislation that would serve as a national anti-predatory lending standard that would apply to all mortgage lenders, according to reports from Bloomberg News.