Modified Wed, Oct 14, 2009 11:03 PM
Cooper supports a new agency
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close xAttorney General Roy Cooper urged Congress on Wednesday to pass the bill that would create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee banks and financial institutions.
The bill and the agency would protect consumers in North Carolina, Cooper said, and help state agencies better address complaints against companies based out-of-state.
"Irresponsible and unfair loans have paved the way to this financial meltdown we are trying to recover from now," he said.
Cooper made his announcement to coincide with actions by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. On Wednesday, the committee took up the bill, which includes President Barack Obama's proposal for correcting the practices of banks, investment houses and other financial institutions.
However, both the attorney general and deputy state banking commissioner Mark Pearce stressed that any new regulation regarding such companies should work in conjunction with state laws already in place. "If you're going to make a loan in North Carolina, you ought to comply with North Carolina law," Pearce said.
Cooper cited the number of complaints his office receives as an indication that companies are mistreating consumers. So far this year, there have been 662, compared with just 51 in all of 2006.
Roger Brown, 61, of Erwin was one of those consumers who filed a complaint.
In June, he lost his job and applied for unemployment. But before his unemployment checks started coming, he was scraping by.
One day he bought a submarine sandwich meal for $10.27. That, along with a monthly maintenance fee from his bank, overdrew his account.
By the time he was able to get enough money to square up with the bank, his fees had accumulated to $315.
"I think the banks should be treating the customers more fairly," he said. "It seemed much more like predatory lending."
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Cooper cites 'unfair loans.'
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