ACORN has been engaged in a major effort to protect our neighborhoods from predatory lending since 1999. The campaign has included work to shine a spotlight on and reform the practices of individual lenders, and playing a leading role in passing city and state legislation to restrict predatory lending, in winning reforms from federal regulators, and in an ongoing fight to block a bill in Congress aimed at preempting state and local protections. At the heart of these victories are the thousands of victims who have been willing to tell their stories and to get involved in efforts to keep others from encountering the same problems, and the still larger group of community residents who have devoted time and energy to this campaign. These ACORN members have protested at lending company offices and the homes of CEOs, rallied outside legislative sessions, and testified in city, state, and federal hearings. Their stories and their actions have put an industry on the defensive. By keeping this issue in the public eye virtually every day ( ACORNs activities generated an average of a newspaper story almost every day for these 3 years - more than 1,000 in total ) and engaging in hundreds of conversations with lawmakers and regulators at every level of government, in addition to numerous protest actions, ACORN has created a climate in which changes must be made. At the same time, neighborhood actions have prevented foreclosures and forced lenders to repair the worst loans, empowering ACORN members to keep pushing for bigger victories. Serious problems continue, and much work remains to be done, but real progress has been made.

Ameriquest.In 1999 ACORN members targeted Ameriquest, one of the country's largest stand-alone subprime lenders. ACORN organized demonstrations, pickets, and sit-ins at Ameriquest offices; demonstrations at the offices of the Wall Street firms that supply Ameriquest with its financing; the filing of complaints with state Attorneys General, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice; and aggressive lobbying of Congress Members, federal regulators, HUD, and the Treasury. Ameriquest agreed to negotiate with ACORN in July 2000, and three months later signed an agreement to invest $360 million in an ACORN pilot program. In 10 cities, Ameriquest agreed to make subprime loans with no prepayment penalties, no credit insurance, a limit on points and fees at 3 percent of a loan, interest rates below the market standard, and loan counseling by ACORN Housing Corporation for every potential borrower. The agreement created a product that has served as an alternative to predatory loans.

Citigroup. In 1999, ACORN released a study condemning Citigroup for its pattern of making high-cost loans in minority and low-income communities, while denying these neighborhoods A credit. When Citigroup acquired the Associates in late 2000, ACORN was in the midst of a campaign against the Associates' predatory practices and publicly opposed the acquisition because Citigroup's own subprime subsidiary, Citifinancial, had long practiced the same abuses. Not long after Citigroup acquired the Associates, the FTC charged the Associates with predatory lending. Under pressure from the FTC, ACORN, and numerous other groups, Citigroup announced that it would make improvements in its practices. In June 2001, as a result of continuing pressure, Citigroup agreed to stop selling single-premium credit insurance. In September of 2002 Citigroup settled with the FTC for $240 million.

Household. ACORN's campaign against Household International's predatory lending through its subsidiaries Household Finance and Beneficial used a wide variety of tactics and sources of leverage to keep constant pressure on the company and force dramatic changes, including a record settlement of $484 million. During this process, ACORN carefully examined the paperwork of hundreds of Household victims who joined the campaign in order to help others. While the campaign made frequent use of protests at Household offices, coordinating simultaneous hits in locations around the country, it also put pressure on the company through its shareholders, its corporate partners, regulators, and the media. ACORN protested outside Household's shareholders' meetings and worked inside to move a resolution that received 5 percent backing in 2001 and 30 percent in 2002 as a result of ACORN's efforts brought large pension funds into the campaign. ACORN also persuaded cities to pass resolutions urging pension funds to divest from Household. ACORN hit Household from every angle, obtaining credit-insurance refunds for many borrowers, helping those borrowers talk to the media, filing complaints on those loans with state regulators and demanding investigations, and then filing class action lawsuits. ACORN also protested at stores like Best Buy that use Household credit cards and persuaded the AFL-CIO, which uses Household credit cards, to pressure the company to reform. In case all this didn't get the point across, ACORN members protested on the front lawns of the CEO and board members. In July 2001, Household announced that it would phase out single-premium credit insurance, and in February 2002 that it would lower the fees financed into loans. In October 2002, Household settled with the states' Attorneys General for $484 million and an enforceable agreement to put in place reforms addressing many of the abuses ACORN had targeted. With its share price dramatically down, and investor confidence shaken, Household sold out to HSBC, a company likely to reform practices further.

Federal Regulation. ACORN, along with allies in the fight against predatory lending, has urged changes to protect borrowers from predatory loans with top officials at HUD, the Treasury Department, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, and bank regulatory agencies. This direct lobbying of these officials was strengthened by ACORN's broader campaign and the climate it helped to produce. In early 2000 ACORN pushed HUD on the issue of federal regulation, providing important impetus for the formation of a HUD/Treasury Task Force on Predatory Lending. ACORN served on the Task Force and testified at many of its hearings. Ultimately the task force produced a document in which HUD and the Treasury endorsed many of ACORN's and the other advocates' positions. Knowing that the Fed had the power to tighten the rules against predatory lending through regulation, ACORN and our allies urged them to do so. In June 2000, more than 1,000 ACORN members marched on the Fed's Philadelphia office to demand action against predatory lending. After the Board then released proposed rules changes incorporating some of the demands, ACORN submitted detailed comments in support of the proposal and worked to get many Members of Congress to send in their own comments. On Dec. 12, 2001, the Board approved the changes. The redefinition of single-premium credit insurance as a fee makes it extremely difficult for lenders to continue to sell that abusive product. The changes also included lowering the APR threshold for high cost loans from 10 to 8 percent above Treasury rates for first liens. Another major regulatory change in progress, made possible by the overwhelming attention to this issue, and the activity in states around the country generated by ACORN and others is the OTS proposal to remove the preemption of state laws limiting or prohibiting prepayment penalties.

City Legislation. ACORN began this effort in 2000 in Chicago by proposing the first ever resolution ( which passed ) against predatory lending, and then an ordinance, which was set aside in favor of a weaker bill that did not address single-premium credit insurance. Chicago ACORNs strong position that this needed to be addressed helped ensure that when Illinois state regulations were issued they did indeed do so. In April of 2001 ACORN and city council ally Marion Tasco passed a municipal antipredatory lending ordinance in Philadelphia after more than a year and a half of campaign work. Although the industry was able to overturn the legislation with a state law, the ordinance set a national standard. It not only prevented the City government from doing business with predatory lenders, but actually prohibited abusive lending anywhere in the city and required loan counseling for borrowers of high interest loans. Philadelphia ACORN and its allies began this groundbreaking campaign by defining the problem, issuing reports, generating publicity, and working with a member of City Council to draft a bill. In October 2001, ACORN passed a similar ordinance through Oakland City Council, and in November 2002 through Los Angeles City Council. Both of those are being held up by industry law suits. In November 2002 New York City Council, responding to ACORN, overrode a mayoral veto to pass an ordinance preventing the City from doing business with predatory lenders or Wall Street firms that buy predatory loans. That ordinance is being held up by a suit the mayor filed against his own city. ACORN also played an active role in fighting for improvements in the more limited city legislation against predatory lending in Washington, D.C., in 2002, and continues to work on a plan to improve that bill. This work at the city level – despite the lawsuits and state preemption laws – is a key vehicle for raising the issue and building momentum for state, and ultimately federal, action. The New York City bill boosted the campaign for a New York State bill, as Oakland's success did for California.

State Legislation. ACORN has played a major role in winning fights for state legislation against abusive mortgage practices around the country, including in California, New York, New Mexico, and New Jersey. The California law – while not the most comprehensive - provided a tremendous boost to the national campaign as it was the second state law passed in the country, and was passed in the most populous state by a single vote margin against all-out industry opposition. The more recently passed New Mexico and New Jersey bills are among the strongest in the country. ACORN also worked to improve the more limited bill passed in Arkansas and is at work now on legislation in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Federal Legislation. ACORN has given its support to federal bills that would restrict predatory lending without preempting states' ability to address their unique concerns with stricter standards. And ACORN has worked to block a bill (H.R. 833) introduced by Rep. Bob Ney (R., Ohio) that would preempt all state and local laws while actually weakening existing federal protections. As part of this effort, an ACORN member testified before the Senate Banking Committee, ACORN members have repeatedly lobbied their members of Congress both at home and in Washington, leaders have spoken at numerous public events and forums on the Hill, and with legislators in their districts, and ACORN has persuaded nine major cities and one state legislature to pass resolutions against federal preemption.

Wells Fargo. In May of 2003, ACORN launched a new national campaign aimed at ending abuses in subprime lending by the largest overall home lender in the country, Wells Fargo. ACORN has released a report on Wells Fargo's practices, staged protests at offices around the country and begun the process of documenting hundreds of cases in order to pressure regulators to enforce existing laws.