“Rates of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures have been increasing rapidly lately, imposing large costs on borrowers, their communities and the national economy,” Bernanke said.

“Although the high rate of delinquency has a number of causes, it seems clear that unfair or deceptive acts and practices by lenders resulted in the extension of many loans, particularly high-cost loans, that were inappropriate for or misled the borrower,” he added.

For all mortgages, the plan would require advertising to contain additional information about rates, monthly payments and other loan features, and it would curtail certain deceptive or misleading advertising practices.

Other practices also would be clamped down on. Lenders, for instance, have to credit a mortgage payment to the homeowner’s account on the day it is received. And, brokers and others are forbidden from “coercing or encouraging” an appraiser to misrepresent the value of a home.

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