What follows below is a statement released by the 'Fair Housing Alliance' of which La Raza is a member. The group places the blame for the current housing crunch squarely on lenders and makes a strong demand that the government keep 'expand homeownership opportunities and promote access to credit to under-served markets' but remember these are special interest "civil rights" groups releasing this statement so already we can see that they just want their [insert ethnic background here] to get home loans without consequences.

One of the things I have tried hard to impress upon people is that a guy earning $6.5/hr washing dishes SHOULD NOT get a home loan simply because he is hispanic and speaks no English. However, La Raza has fought for and be successful in ascertaining the ability for these types of people and others of similar ethnicities to get home loans. These loans are a large part of what is known as the 'sub-prime market'.

But why would La Raza be placing the blame on the lenders when they have encouraged this behavior AND benefited from it. Their "Institutional Corporate Partners" include Bank of America (owners of Countrywide), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

So is the problem were in now of so little concern that they take the money of the companies responsible for it? When the economy dips the claim they make is that this will devastate hispanic jobs... but they profit from those who cause the decline...

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/c ... aspx?guid={EE91F803-04A2-4FD5-8DCC-2EA4A524F1DA}&dist=hppr

Civil Rights and Consumer Groups Respond to Takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Last update: 12:21 p.m. EDT Sept. 12, 2008
WASHINGTON, Sept 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The federal government announced over the weekend its takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The following civil rights, consumer and housing groups made this statement:

Housing is the key to a strong economy, as we can see by the state of our nation today. Although the government has taken over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, it is vital that Congress and the Conservator not lose sight of the GSEs' fundamental purpose, as chartered by Congress, to expand homeownership opportunities and promote access to credit to under-served markets. This purpose continues to be of vital importance.
Private companies that originate mortgages for sale to Wall Street have demonstrated that they will not provide sustainable, quality credit to low- and moderate-income consumers and to under-served markets. While the private securitization market claimed to be fulfilling an unmet need, it adopted practices that were detrimental to under-served markets and ultimately to the entire global economy.
Under the conservatorship, the government has the ability to stabilize our economy and communities devastated by unscrupulous and irresponsible lending practices. To accomplish this, the government and the GSEs should:
-- freeze foreclosures for a substantial period of time on all whole loans in their portfolios to allow for modification;
-- modify existing mortgages likely headed for default by removing these loans from their securitized pools, without waiting for the loan to become delinquent, and modifying them to avoid unnecessary foreclosures;
-- maintain affordable housing goals;
-- make a concerted effort to work with lenders, servicers and rental management companies to stop evictions of tenants in foreclosed units;
-- maintain affordable housing programs, particularly the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund enacted by Congress in July;
-- develop new underwriting criteria for underserved borrowers who do not meet FHA or prime criteria in order to offer them affordable housing loan products;
-- make fair housing compliance a mainstay of the markets and the GSEs' practices.
As our leaders work to stabilize the housing market, speed economic recovery, and open the benefits of homeownership to working families, the public missions of Freddie and Fannie must be kept front and center.
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
CDFI Coalition
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Center for Responsible Lending
Consumer Action
Consumer Federation of America
Consumers Union
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Association of Neighborhoods
National Consumer Law Center
National Council of La Raza
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness
U.S. PIRG
SOURCE National Fair Housing Alliance

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