5 The regulations would be enforceable by state and federal supervisory and enforcement agencies as well as by consumers themselves, who could recover statutory damages for violations above and beyond actual damages. The proposed rules cover a range of practices.
First, the rules would prohibit a lender from engaging in a pattern or practice of making higher-priced loans that the borrower cannot reasonably be expected to repay from income or from assets other than the house. Of course, appropriate attention to the borrower's ability to repay is a fundamental feature of good underwriting.