Del. Elizabeth Bobo, D-Howard, was named Consumer Legislator of the Year by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition for protecting consumers from “predatory lenders and for-profit debt management companies,” according to a coalition news release.
Bobo spoke with The Examiner about her efforts.
What are some of your major initiatives for Maryland consumers?
When I first went to Annapolis … I learned there was a big problem with access to fundamental banking accounts so low-income people can manage their money well. That was the first thing I did.
I began working on the extremely high fees check-cashing companies charged. … [Then] the payday lending issue came to light …
We learned about debt management companies, [which] were unregulated in Maryland, and it was a very common occurrence that someone would go there, pay large fees and wind up in bigger debt than they were.
Are subprime mortgages the biggest problem facing Maryland consumers?
I would say that is it. By and large, subprime mortgages were completely legal. It was a case of insufficient regulations. That is what we can do. There will be resistance to further regulation. I can guarantee we will hear it?s bad for business.
Why is the coalition you helped found in 1999 important?
The most underrepresented group in the state are consumers. That?s all of us.
Although the coalition has done good work … there seems to be an unending, unlimited creativity on the part of some people to come up with new ideas for making a big profit, and the average consumer can get hurt.
