Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force
Continues Scrutiny of Mortgage Industry

Terrence O'Donnell
Christopher N. Slagle
May 2007

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, in early 2007, established the Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force to scrutinize the increasing number of home foreclosures in Ohio. The Task Force is expected to report to the Governor a unified and coordinated statewide response to foreclosure issues.

The Task Force, chaired by Ohio Department of Commerce Director Kimberly Zurz, expects to focus its attention on outreach and education to homebuyers and owners in foreclosure, proactive intervention for homeowners facing imminent foreclosure, and financial resources to assist Ohioans facing foreclosure or the possibility of foreclosure to keep their homes.

Task Force members include Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, State Treasurer Richard Cordray, Assistant Ohio Attorney General Mike Deemer, as well as members of the Ohio Senate, Ohio House of Representatives, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, members of the Ohio banking and mortgage banking communities, local governments, and non-profit housing advocates. Information on inaugural task force meeting.

Task Force members have initially called on the mortgage lending industry to make blanket changes to lending practices, foreclosure processes, and attempt to provide workout arrangements for those homeowners facing or potentially facing foreclosure actions, specifically those with adjustable rate mortgage loans. Specific recommendations and practices for the lending community are possible and likely inclusions to the Task Force report to the Governor in the next several weeks.

The activities of the Task Force, current litigation filed by Ohio's Attorney General against New Century Financial, and pending investigations of other mortgage industry players follow recent passage in Ohio of S.B. 185, anti-predatory lending legislation enacted in 2006. Each of these areas, as well as additional legislative and legal developments, are expected to remain highly visible in Ohio for some time to come.

For more information on the Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, litigation issues, or the mortgage lending industry, in general, please feel free to contact Terrence O'Donnell or Christopher Slagle or any member of the Bricker & Eckler Consumer Finance & Mortgage Banking Group.