Mo. bill calls for new regulations on sub-prime lenders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Lawmakers are proposing regulations for sub-prime lenders.

They hope to target predatory lending by requiring lenders to act in consumers' interests, preventing lenders from charging fees for early payments and allowing lawsuits for violations.

Democratic House member Jeff Harris plans to file the bill with Republican member David Pearce. Harris, who is running for attorney general, says adjustable rate loans have created an economic crisis.

Pearce, a banker, says most predatory lenders are out-of-state mortgage companies and not state-regulated credit unions and banks.

The state director for an activist group that has helped people with the sub-prime loans estimates that several hundred thousand Missourians have them.