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CORRECTING and REPLACING New Group Formed to Promote Community Mortgage Lending

The corrected release reads:

NEW GROUP FORMED TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY MORTGAGE LENDING

Aims to Ensure Uniform Protections for Home Borrowers

A group of mortgage industry leaders today announced the launch of an effort to promote community based mortgage lending - the Community Mortgage Lenders of America (CML America). Changes proposed by Congress threaten to drive the local mortgage lenders into extinction, reducing competition and raising costs to borrowers.

"We stand ready to take on the challenges that face our industry and independent mortgage bankers," said Scott Stern, chairman of CML America and CEO of Lenders One, a St. Louis-based mortgage cooperative. "We look forward to working with these and other independent mortgage bankers across the country on the mission of ensuring that any changes to the industry do not adversely affect their business or how they serve consumers."

CML America will advocate in Washington, D.C., for uniform rules for all mortgage lenders, and will oppose measures that would put community mortgage lenders at a competitive disadvantage. With more than 100 companies from throughout the U.S. initially expected to support the effort, CML America will be the first and only group in Washington that solely represents community mortgage bankers and their customers.

"Community-based mortgage lenders are the backbone of the nation's housing finance system," Howard Glaser, president of The Glaser Group and counsel to CML America, explained. "They did not create the products that led to the mortgage meltdown.

"The traditional focus of community mortgage bankers has been conventional mortgages - not exotic loans. Yet today, Washington is pursuing policies that will threaten to put the community-based home lender out of business - leaving the mortgage system in the hands of those who created and marketed high-risk products. CML America will stand up for community mortgage lenders and the borrowers they serve."

The share of mortgages originated by community mortgage lenders grew from 14 percent in 1978 to 58 percent of all mortgage loans made in America in 2000. After 2000, local lenders saw a rapid decline as they lost market share to Wall Street-backed subprime lenders pedaling exotic loans. Today, two large national banks alone account for 45 percent of the entire mortgage market. The top four lenders - all large banks - account for 60 percent of all mortgage loans today. The community-based mortgage lender is an endangered species.

Just as troubling, Congress has begun to draw up different consumer protection rules for different types of lending institutions. Consumers should never be in a position of having to know what charter their lender holds to know what borrower protections they have. Financial regulatory reform must ensure that consumer protections apply equally to all lenders, and that all borrowers receive equal consumer protections, no matter what lender they happen to patronize.

CML America also works closely with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and other trade groups in crafting messages to Congress and the current administration around issues that affect independent mortgage bankers.

About CML America

The Community Mortgage Lenders of America (CML America) is a new advocacy organization that focuses on protecting the interests of independent mortgage bankers and their borrowers. The group plans to provide timely and accurate information to members on new and changing requirements. For more information, visit www.cmlamerica.com.

About Lenders One

Lenders One is a national alliance of mortgage bankers which was established in 2000 and is based in St. Louis. With more than 150 members originating more than $60 billion in mortgage loans annually, the Lenders One alliance ranks as the third largest retail mortgage originator in the U.S. Lenders One leverages its aggregate buying power and preferred-investor relationships to negotiate better lending terms and provide premium business services at reduced costs. Its mortgage productivity system additionally allows members to close more loans, satisfy continuing education requirements and market themselves more powerfully.

For more information about membership, contact Tim Stern 866.728.5678 or visit www.lendersone.com.

For Lenders One
Media Contacts
Charlyne H. McWilliams/Megan Ard
301-933-5567/678-781-7223