Given that subprime lenders are getting a mostly deserved bad rap of late, I've been on the lookout for articles about people who are doing subprime right. Yesterday I wrote about Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus's crusade to provide credit to low-income entrepreneurs.
Now the latest issue of Forbes features a profile of Martin Eakes, called subprime's Mr. Clean, who runs a South Carolina credit union and is also the founder of the Center for Responsible Lending. Forbes describes him as being "to mortgage lenders what Ralph Nader was to the auto industry."
Mr. Eakes has led the legislative charge against payday lending (which I would argue is mostly a non-issue), mortgage prepayment penalties (which I think are evil), and mortgage-broker fees (which, in excess, are also evil). In Congress, he has convinced the House to pass a bill requiring that lenders be more demanding in search of documentation showing that home buyers can actually afford what they're getting themselves into.
Mr. Eakes may be more extreme than most, but the Center for Responsible Lending's website is a great research for anyone interested in researching these issues, including a state-by-state analysis of subprime losses.
Struggling Playboy outsources business ops
J. Crew earnings preview: A strong Q3 all buttoned up?
Twitter to make acquisitions, generate revenue in 2010
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-02-2008 @ 2:31PM
Link Robertson said...
Martin Eakes has created an institution to be emulated by each of us involved in the sub-prime business. I look forward to learning from his organization further. Good article.
http://www.CreditRestorationFactory.com
http://www.InstituteForEthicalBehavior.com
http://www.AutoFinanceInsider.com
Link Robertson
3-03-2008 @ 8:26PM
grantalupous said...
Interesting that Eakes is getting such a good reputation when he is just trying to eliminate his main competition. Most of Credit Union's profit comes from overdraft fees, and bounced check fees, which is what payday loans have been proven to reduce in areas where payday lenders are present. I really think that we need to get a grip on the bigger lenders, like credit card companies and banks before we even worry about the measly $300 payday loans. Banks are foreclosing on people left and right, and they are charging $35 overdraft and bounced check fees, which can be as much as 1300%! Why are we worrying about these little $300 loans? Is $300 really going to put someone over the edge? What we need to do is focus on the borrowers, and make them responsible for their actions.
3-08-2008 @ 1:02PM
Patrick Eakes said...
Eakes' credit union is based on NC, not SC.
grantalupous, you are badly mistaken. Eakes was helping subprime borrowers and small companies before the rise of the payday lending. Check their annual reports if you want to find out the source of their income, so you don't have to speculate.