During a House Intergovernmental Affairs hearing this week, Pennsylvania Secretary of Banking Steve Kaplan said lawmakers in the state should not be deterred from initiating stronger anti-predatory lending measures.

Kaplan’s testimony occurred during a discussion of House Resolution 415, which, if passed, would effectively freeze existing home mortgages and implement a statewide foreclosure moratorium.
“The mortgage industry has changed in several important and troubling ways,” said Kaplan. “Too many people are getting, and at times being lured into, loans they simply cannot afford to repay. I urge the General Assembly to give the banking department the tools it needs to bring transparency back to the mortgage business.”
The Pennsylvania Senate Banking and Insurance and House Commerce Committees have six bills related to the mortgage crisis up for consideration.
The Department of Banking is attempting to implement bills that will do the following:
implement stronger licensing and educational requirements for loan originators
establish the ability to quickly notify the public about fines against companies and other issues of concern
create improvement in the area of appraiser oversight
develop better disclosure on mortgage loans
create improved verification of a borrower’s ability to repay a loan