The Fed, which has regulatory powers over the nation's banking system, is considering:

--restricting lenders from penalizing certain subprime borrowers -- those with tarnished credit or low incomes -- who pay off their loans early. The restriction would apply to loans that meet certain conditions, including that the penalty expire at least 60 days before any possible payment increase.

--forcing lenders to make sure that subprime borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance.

--barring lenders from making loans when they don't have proof, or verification, of a borrower's income.

--prohibiting lenders from engaging in a pattern or practice of lending without considering a borrower's ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home's value.

"Unfair and deceptive acts and practices hurt not just borrowers and their families, but entire communities, and indeed, the economy as a whole," said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in prepared remarks. "They have no place in our mortgage system," he added.

Fed policymakers also are considering requiring financial disclosures to borrowers early enough to use while shopping for a mortgage. Lenders could not charge fees -- except for a fee to obtain a credit report -- until after the consumer receives the disclosures. The Fed also will consider prohibiting certain types of misleading or deceptive advertising for certain loans; It also would require that all applicable rates or payments be disclosed in ads with equal prominence as advertised introductory, or "teaser" rates.

In addition, the Fed is expected to propose barring lenders from paying mortgage brokers a fee that exceeds the amount the would-be borrower had agreed to in advance that the broker would receive.

And, the Fed would ban certain practices, such as failing to credit a mortgage payment to a borrower's account when the company servicing the mortgage receives it. The Fed also would prohibit a broker or other company from coercing or encouraging an appraiser to misrepresent the value of a home.

So, when did those requirements go away? Most of them were considered standard practice, but the demobulbs stepped in and chipped away..........

ha!!

do any Fed regulations ever get a sunset provision application?

I agree with _X_...aren't most (if not all) of these SOP anyway?

Base the loan on the customer's ability to repay??? Unless there is a requirement that the customer is able to afford the max rate for an ARM, this won't do any good; qualifying at "teaser" rates is one of the main reasons we got into this mess in the first place.