New York Creates Borrowers' Bill of Rights

Just how much trouble are mortgage borrowers having with their loan servicers? These are the companies that send the monthly bills, foreclose when the payments don't come, and too often make it really hard for many borrowers to get loan modifications when they can't afford to keep up.

According to New York State Banking Superintendent Richard H. Neiman, borrowers are having a lot of trouble –- so much, indeed, that this week he issued a borrowers' bill of rights to make sure that servicers are dealing fairly and responsibly with customers. Neiman serves on the Elizabeth Warren-chaired Congressional Oversight Panel on TARP, where he heard an earful from homeowner advocates about consumers' problems with their servicers, especially about long delays in processing loan modifications while the foreclosure clock is ticking.

So what else will consumers be protected against?