BROCKTON, Mass. — The $1.4 billion HarborOne Credit Union has inaugurated what it calls a "Multicultural Banking Center" to fight predatory lending among lower income and immigrant communities.
Credit Union President and CEO James Blake said HarborOne created the center and that the growing foreclosure crisis in the country gave the measure increased impetus. Nationally, there were 1.2 million foreclosure filings in 2006, a 42% increase over 2005. That represented a rate of one foreclosure for every 92 U.S. households, the CU said.
The center, believed to be one of the first of its kind in the nation, will help people avoid mortgage gimmicks that have helped fuel the foreclosure crisis, which has severely impacted the Brockton area. The center is also designed to help move people into mainstream banking products and away from payday lending, expensive check cashing services, unscrupulous pawnshop owners and rent-to-own vendors.
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