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Predatory lending practices take a human toll
By Lauren | October 6, 2008
AOL News reported yesterday that a ninety-year-old woman in Akron, Ohio shot herself in the chest as sheriff’s deputies attempted to evict her from the home where she’s lived for almost thirty years. According to AOL, Addie Polk became the sole owner of her home when her husband died in 1995. Two years later, she took out a mortgage loan, which she refinanced several times. When she defaulted on the loan, Mrs. Polk’s lender, Countrywide Home Loans, filed for foreclosure. Fannie Mae bought the house at a sheriff’s auction, and sought to have Mrs. Polk evicted.
In the wake of Mrs. Polk’s apparent attempted suicide, Fannie Mae has agreed to forgive the mortgage, dismiss its foreclosure action, and allow Mrs. Polk to return home when she recovers from her injuries. That’s good news for Mrs. Polk. But what about the other millions of homeowners who fell prey to predatory lenders and are now struggling to meet mortgage payments they can’t afford? The vast majority of those folks won’t attempt suicide and their individual stories won’t make the news, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t every bit as desperate as Mrs. Polk was.
Addie Polk’s story helps put a human face on the victims of the predatory lending practices that created the subprime mortgage mess. It should be required reading for all of those clever, greedy mortgage lenders who thought they had found an ideal way to make a quick buck. The message is simple and clear: when businesses act unethically, ordinary people suffer for it.
Topics: Business Ethics, Social Ethics, corporate responsibility, ethics |
October 6th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Great post. I will read your posts frequently. Added you to the RSS reader.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Hi Tony,
Welcome, and thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Best regards,
Lauren