Our proposal includes key protections for higher-priced mortgage loans secured by a consumer's principal dwelling and addresses concerns about a lender's assessment of a borrower's ability to make the scheduled  BIS Review 80/2008  3  payments, including verification of the consumer's income and assets.
The proposal also addresses concerns about prepayment penalties and the adverse impact on consumers of lenders failing to escrow for taxes and insurance. Protecting consumers also has benefits for lenders because it should reduce delinquencies and defaults that can occur when consumers do not understand or cannot afford certain types of loans. We are working toward issuing final regulations in July.