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South Central Assembly for Effective Governance receives contribution from Sovereign Bank to combat predatory lending.

Sovereign Bank has made a contribution of $3,500 to the South Central Assembly for Effective Governance, most of it dedicated to the agency’s 8-county anti-predatory lending campaign, Assembly Chair Stephen R. Reed reported.

Predatory lending involves deceptive loan practices and excessively high interest rates which many times have led to homeowners being locked into debt they cannot pay, resulting in the loss of their homes.

Sovereign Bank is one of the area banking institutions involved with the Assembly effort against such practices and are represented by bank Vice President Penny Myers and Barbara Groce, who presented the contribution and who also serve on the Assembly Board of Directors.

The Assembly leads the state in fighting predatory lending. It planned and conducted the first study of predatory-based foreclosures of homes in the region. That study, while four years old, remains the only 100% count of the damage being done by predators in the commonwealth housing market. Other on-going initiatives include a first ever video advertising campaign to alert the public to the threat and advice of on-going counseling support. This was done in partnership with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and other groups including area lenders and non-profits.

Caption: Joseph Beck, Penny Myers, and Barbara Groce, of Sovereign Bank, presented Mayor Stephen Reed and W. Craig Zumbrun with a $3500 donation at the July 20th Board of Directors Meeting.