[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H4032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SUBPRIME LENDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Cummings) for reserving this time tonight to bring to the 
attention of the American people our deep concern about subprime 
lending and the rising foreclosure rate across our Nation.
  Last week, we learned that the foreclosure rate jumped 47 percent in 
March of 2007 from just 1 year ago. Several weeks ago, Freddie Mac, 
which buys loans from lenders and sets underwriting standards, stopped 
purchasing 2/28 and 3/27 loans, or loans on which interest rates are 
fixed for only the first 2 years or 3 years of a 30-year loan.
  Freddie Mac, recognizing the increase in number of defaults on these 
exotic loans because of rising rates and falling real estate prices, 
cut its losses short and got out of the subprime business.
  Within the last month, the Nation's second largest subprime lender, 
New Century Financial Corporation, suspended making any new subprime 
loans because of the huge number of defaults on subprime mortgage loans 
and has since filed for bankruptcy protection. Incidentally, the 
executives of First Century have asked for an exit package of some $6.5 
million.
  Countrywide, the largest subprime lender in the United States, also 
has problems with its subprime and prime portfolios.
  Numerous subprime lenders have been forced into bankruptcy or have 
been sold to larger lenders.
  General Motors Acceptance Corporation is out of the subprime business 
altogether. The list continues to grow with each passing day.
  Defaults on subprime mortgage loans have prompted investors to turn 
their backs on mortgage-backed securities, making it more difficult for 
subprime lenders to sell their loans and to raise the cash for new 
loans. This has created a liquidity trap for many borrowers who want to 
refinance out of the nontraditional mortgage products. Huge amounts of 
cash that once sought the high yields tied to mortgage-backed 
securities creating easy money for borrowers, many of whom had less 
than stellar credit, or lacked loan documentation, or sought zero down 
payment products, is no longer available. No one knows for sure what 
the extent of the exposure is and exactly who is exposed because the 
way mortgages are packaged into pools and sold to investors makes it 
difficult to determine who owns the loans and how much money is lost.
  One estimate by Lehman Brothers suggests that approximately $19 
billion in losses are parked in loan pools put together in 2005, 2006 
and this year, representing 5.5 percent of all mortgages.
  The Center for Responsible Lending December 2006 report entitled, 
``Losing Ground: Foreclosures in the Subprime Market and Their Cost to 
Homeowners,'' documents the relationship between subprime lending and 
foreclosures and suggests that by the end of 2006, 2.2 million 
households in the subprime market either will have lost their homes to 
foreclosure or hold subprime mortgages that will fail over the next 
several years. These foreclosures will cost homeowners as much as $164 
billion, primarily in home equity.
  One out of five, or 20 percent, of the subprime mortgages originated 
during the first 2 years will end in foreclosure. So rather than wealth 
creation that we expect with homeownership, we will witness wealth 
evaporation tied to foreclosures.
  Federal regulators issued guidance last year acknowledging that 
subprime loans were a problem. The guidance speaks to loans where the 
rates can change dramatically after the second or third year of the 
mortgage, such as from 7 percent to 11.5 percent. That guidance 
suggests that lenders be required to take into account the borrower's 
ability to make monthly payments at higher rates and also property 
taxes and homeowners insurance which are often not escrowed in the 
subprime loans.
  I applaud the guidance, but what we really need is for there to be 
forbearance on the part of lenders while we get this mess straightened 
out and before it leads to something catastrophic in the financial 
markets. It has already spilled over into the home building industry, 
and the fallout is far from over.
  Congress must still balance the interest of assisting home buyers who 
are low- and moderate-income first-time buyers, while ensuring that 
they avoid the pitfalls of the subprime market and that they have safe 
options. Providing assistance to existing subprime borrowers who are in 
danger of losing their homes is key.
  I believe that FHA modernization is part of the solution, and so we 
will mark up H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 
2007, a bill that I have introduced, next week in the Committee on 
Financial Services. Reasonable workout plans represent another 
mechanism that can assist homeowners from falling into foreclosure.
  In effect, the lenders know that they are better off not losing these 
borrowers to foreclosure since it is very costly to the lenders. It 
only creates a ripple effect in the communities where the properties 
are located, creating vacancies, blight, arson and other social ills. 
In addition, the cycle of predatory lending activity continues with 
investors purchasing foreclosed property at depressed prices only to 
turn around and sell the properties quickly at inflated prices.
  I have asked Freddie to take a look at prohibiting the use of its 
resources to finance this type of mortgage lending.
  A big plus is that Freddie Mac just took proactive steps, announcing 
that it will make $20 billion available to assist borrowers by the 
summer with refinancing. Fannie Mae will join this effort. I can not 
predict what will happen in the subprime lending market, but I do 
believe that we can stem the tide of foreclosures by working closely 
with Freddie, Fannie and the lenders. One thing that I do know is that 
we will have to correct this problem if the markets can not fix it. We 
can not sit by and watch Americans, many through no fault of their own, 
lose their homes. Every time there is a victim to foreclosure, the rate 
of homeownership in American falls and the gap between the rich and the 
poor worsens. No one wants to reverse the progress that we have made in 
this country on homeownership, certainly not me.

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