 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
On October 11, 2007 the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy hosted the latest installment of its 'Marketplace of Ideas' series featuring Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson at the Downtown Conference Center at Pace University.
Minnesota’s predatory mortgage lending law, considered among the strongest in the nation, requires lenders to verify borrowers’ ability to repay their loan; bans refinancing loans without benefit to the borrower; and caps points and fees, among other provisions prohibiting unfair lending practices. The law was developed by Attorney General Lori Swanson’s Predatory Mortgage Lending Study Group, involving consumer advocates, bankers, business people and state legislators convened by Swanson in December 2006. Swanson previously served as Chair of the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Minnesota’s predatory lending law informs reform efforts in New York and other states and serves as a model for legislation currently under consideration by the U.S. Congress.
Opening Remarks were delivered by:
HON. CHARLES SCHUMER
United States Senate
A panel discussion on the strategies for stopping predatory mortgage lending featured:
HON. JAMES SANDERS, JR.
New York City Council
RICHARD H. NEIMAN
Superintendent of Banking, New York State
SARAH LUDWIG
Executive Director, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project
Introduction by
MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH
Co-Director, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project
Moderated by
ANDREA BATISTA SCHLESINGER
Executive Director, Drum Major Institute for Public Policy
Panelist Biographies
LORI SWANSON was elected Attorney General of the State of Minnesota on November 7, 2006. She is Minnesota's first female Attorney General. She was sworn in as Minnesota’s 29th Attorney General on January 2, 2007, continuing her proud record of service to the people of Minnesota. Attorney General Swanson has been a strong and tireless advocate for the public in such areas as health care reform, predatory mortgage lending, financial fraud against the elderly and others, criminal justice, public safety and consumer protection.
Attorney General Swanson has proposed legislation to better protect Minnesotans against predatory lending, identity theft, cyber-bullying and internet crimes, and cell phone and utilities abuses and to provide college financial aid and consumer protections to veterans and to promote public safety. Attorney General Swanson has taken action against insurance companies that misled senior citizens on the sale of long-term annuities and companies that operated “trust mills,” utility companies that have overcharged their customers, and adoption agencies that failed to deliver the babies. Attorney General Swanson negotiated an agreement with all hospitals in Minnesota to ensure fair medical billing and collection practices for Minnesotans. She has also taken action to protect students from deceptive college lending practices and to protect Minnesotans from consumer scams.
Ms. Swanson served the State of Minnesota as Minnesota’s Solicitor General from 2003 to 2006, and Deputy Attorney General from 1999 to 2002. Prior to her appointment as Deputy Attorney General, Ms. Swanson was an attorney in private practice in Minneapolis.
In 2006, Ms. Swanson served as Chair of the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington D.C. The Consumer Advisory Council, established by Congress in 1976, advises the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and the Board of Governors in consumer protection matters, including predatory lending, mortgage, banking, credit card marketing practices, credit scoring and credit bureau reporting, fraud and identity theft, and financial privacy. Ms. Swanson served as Vice-Chair of the Council in 2005 and a member in 2004. In 2007, Swanson testified in front of the Board in Washington D.C., urging it to take action to protect homeowners from predatory mortgage lending practices that lead to default, foreclosure, and economic turmoil.
Ms. Swanson graduated magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. She and her husband Gary live in Eagan, Minnesota.
HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER - also known as “Chuck” - is the Senior Senator from
In January 2007, Chuck was appointed Vice Chair of the Democratic Conference; the third-highest leadership position in the Senate. He currently serves as the Chair of the Joint Economic Committee and holds a seat on the powerful Finance Committee; the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the Judiciary Committee; and the Committee on Rules and Administration. Chuck is also the Chair of the Banking Sub-Committee of Chairman of Housing, Transportation and Community Development and the Judiciary Sub-Committee Administrative Oversight and the Courts.
HON. JAMES SANDERS, JR. is a New York City Council Member in his second term representing Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Rosedale and the Rockaways (Council District 31). Throughout his tenure, he has proven to be a tenacious fighter for his constituents.
Sanders was blessed to be unanimously voted the first African-American Chair of the Economic Development Committee in over 300 years of NYCs existence. As Chair, Sanders is in charge of a disparity study that is the basis upon which NYC can reinstate affirmative action. Chair Sanders has oversight of the Economic Development Corporation, and the Department of Small Business Services. Sanders is a member of the Land Use, Consumer Affairs, Technology in Government, Transportation, and the Fire and Criminal Justice Services committees.
His legislation includes authoring (and passing) the toughest anti-predatory lending law in the country to protect homeowners.
RICHARD H. NEIMAN was appointed on March 5, 2007 by Governor Eliot Spitzer to serve as the Banking Department’s 43rd Superintendent.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Neiman accumulated extensive experience in the financial industry from a range of perspectives in executive, regulatory, and legal roles. Immediately prior to joining the Banking Department, Mr. Neiman served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of TD Bank USA, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Mr. Neiman began his career with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C. where he served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel. He went on to be a Director of Regulatory Advisory Services with Price Waterhouse in Washington, DC, followed by 10 years with Citicorp, where he held a variety of positions, including General Counsel of its Global Equities Group.
Mr. Neiman joined TD Waterhouse Group, Inc., a bank holding company and leading global online financial services firm, in 1994 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He remained with TD Waterhouse until its acquisition by Ameritrade in 2006.
Mr. Neiman holds a B.A. degree in political science from American University, School of Government and a J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law.
Mr. Neiman is on the Board of Directors and a Vice President of the Henry Street Settlement, one of New York’s oldest social services organizations and he also serves on the Board of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, a mentoring and college preparatory organization serving students in Harlem and Washington Heights.
SARAH LUDWIG is NEDAP's Executive Director and a leading advocate on community equity and financial justice issues. Since founding NEDAP in 1995, she has worked with hundreds of grassroots groups to develop local organizing and advocacy strategies to address redlining and lending discrimination. Sarah leads New Yorkers for Responsible Lending, a coalition of 120 community and consumer groups and community financial institutions dedicated to combating predatory lending practices. Sarah was a 2000 fellow in the Rockefeller Foundation's Next Generation Leadership Program, and in 2002 received the Union Square Award. In 2004, she was selected as a Ford Foundation Leadership for a Changing World awardee. Sarah was appointed in 2006 to serve on the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council.
MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH is the Co-Director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP). He was the founding Executive Director of the Central Brooklyn Partnership from 1991 to 2003. The Partnership, a membership and neighborhood-based organization, built the capacity of local people to exert political and economic power through direct action community organizing and cooperative, sustainable development.
While directing the Partnership he also served as the founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Brooklyn Federal Credit Union, which at the time was the country’s largest Black-owned, community-based financial cooperative. Mark also addresses community development and economic justice issues through magazine journalism and public policy analysis. He maintains a column on community development at the Gotham Gazette and is a Fellow at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy.