A Word From Our President

Subprime lending was not initially a bad thing; it was meant for good. It was meant to be a creative way to assist individuals who may have been traditionally underserved an opportunity to realize the American dream of homeownership. But somewhere along the way a majority of subprime lenders went to the “dark side”...called Predatory Lending.

For many the American Dream died and despair came in its place. But we as a people must ban together and fight to resurrect those dreams and keep HOPE alive!!! We must bring together our collective resources to educate and we must demand reform in the mortgage industry. Through lobbying and enacting consumer laws on Capital Hill, we can put a stop to this vicious cycle.

The target prey of Predatory Lending was initially the uneducated, the uninformed, and because of the "hidden red-line" - the poor and the minority. But because "GREED" became a predominant force (almost overpowering the evils of discrimination), predatory lending crossed all racial, income, and gender lines.

Years ago, loans were secured with the institution from which t he borrower closed its loan. That was in the day when relationship banking” was the norm instead of a rarity. Today, we have a process in place whereby the loans are sold in “bundles” by the masses.

Servicing rights are bought and sold in seconds whereby - borrowers have now become no more than a “product number” on an assembly line…and even more so now with the national foreclosure dilemma.

The question is how can we solve these problems with current and future loans? While there are no “microwave” answers, there is a need to determine both short term and long-term solutions.

In the short term, we need a moratorium on all housing foreclosures to get a handle on the dilemma our nation is facing. In the long term we need major reform of our anti-predatory laws.

To forge change, we must voice the need for change to our government officials and Bank Regulatory agencies. We must call and write our Congressmen, Congresswomen, State Representatives and U. S. Senators to enact laws that protect the innocent and uninformed. We must write and voice change to the Bank regulators: The Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

At the Detroit Alliance for Fair Banking, we are passionate about economic justice for the people of our great state.

Our vision is to see substantial community revitalization and to ignite economic growth for the city of Detroit as the center of the metropolitan area.