Press Release

	For Immediate Release: August 6, 2007

Ellison: Congress to Hold Financial Services Hearing in Twin Cities

Minneapolis - Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minneapolis) announced today that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services will hold an official hearing entitled “The Effect of Predatory Lending and the Foreclosure Crisis on Twin Cities Communities and Neighborhoods” on Thursday, August 9th from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at the Minneapolis Central Library (300 Nicollet Mall).  The hearing is open to the public.

The goal of the hearing is for the committee to hear from advocates, community associations, industry and local representatives with unique perspectives of the foreclosure and housing situation in the Twin Cities.  While communities all over the country are struggling with foreclosures, predatory lending, and issues associated with the sub-prime lending crisis, Minneapolis and St. Paul are emblematic of a larger, nationwide problem.  In fact, in the first three months of this year, there were 678 foreclosure sales in the city of Minneapolis, an increase of more than 100% in just one year.  Furthermore, more than half of these foreclosures were located in North Minneapolis, an area particularly hit hard by predatory lending and foreclosure policies.

“I am proud to have the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, on which I serve, here in the Twin Cities to see first-hand the impact these practices have had on our neighborhoods.”  Congressman Ellison stated.

The hearing’s testimony and transcript will be a part of the official record, which members may use as they develop, discuss and debate predatory lending legislation in the coming months.

WHAT:           House Financial Services Committee Hearing

• “The Effect of Predatory Lending and the Foreclosure Crisis on Twin Cities Communities and Neighborhoods”

WHEN:           Thursday, August 9, 2007 6:00 – 8:00 P.M.

WHERE:         Minneapolis Central Library (300 Nicollet Mall)

WHO:            

• Chairman Barney Frank

• Congressman Keith Ellison

• Lori Swanson, Minnesota Attorney General

• R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis Mayor

• Chris Coleman, St. Paul Mayor,

• Community Advocates and Industry Representatives

Background:

• A Minneapolis Star Tribune April 24, 2007 article called the Minneapolis foreclosure rate an “epidemic.”  

• This problem is not limited to one city or neighborhood, a 2006 study by the city of St. Paul found that there are more than 800 abandoned buildings in the city, the highest number since the city began keeping such records in the 1980s.

• Foreclosure rates are not unique to the Twin Cities.  The nation-wide default rate among borrowers holding sub-prime mortgages has risen to 12.6%.

• Hennepin County (Minneapolis) data also indicates a disproportionate number of recipients of these high cost loans are people of color:  64% African American, 49% Hispanic, and 48% Asian.

• The Financial Services hearing is designed to examine in detail all of these issues as well as any related to the foreclosure crisis in the Twin Cities.