Nader Lobbies to Keep the Teeth In Truth-in-Lending Regulations

WASHINGTON - maintain existing consumer loan safeguards, said banks are awash in a "tidal wave" of Truth-in-Lending Act violations. Mr. Nader said data from the federal banking agencies show that examiners found 180,000 violations over a five-year period ended in 1994. Those violations were discovered by examiners who review a sampling of loans in a bank or thrift's portfolio, so the actual number of violations would likely be much higher, Mr. Nader said. Both the House and Senate banking committees are considering regulatory relief legislation that would reduce the paperwork required under Truth-in- Lending. Mr. Nader said the legislation efforts would "gut the protections" provided in the law. However, the American Bankers Association said many of the violations discovered by the examiners are almost certainly technical in nature. "If a $25 fee for a mortgage loan is put in the wrong category, that has no real effect on a loan that's paid off over 30 years," said Nessa Feddis, an ABA lawyer. "But it goes down as a violation.

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