Florida Attorney General Attempts to Soothe Concerns over SunTrust Home Equity Loans

Miami, FLIn an effort to ease concerns over shady business deals as they pertain to home equity lines of credit, or HELOC loans, Florida's attorney general recently called a town hall-style meeting in which citizens affected by the mortgage crisis and loan scandals could get straight answers from representatives of a number of financial institutions, including SunTrust Bank.

The event, which was moderated by Attorney General Bill McCollum himself, drew hundreds of residents from throughout the Sunshine State as well as an Interagency Task Force comprised of representatives from the US Housing and Urban Development department, the state's Office of Financial Regulation and the Florida Bar.

Representatives of major financial institutions were also on hand to address concerns about the housing and loan crises affecting many across the state.

Of particular note is the Atlanta-based bank SunTrust, which is facing a pending class action lawsuit from clients accusing the institution of decreasing, freezing or terminating thousands of HELOC credit lines for seemingly no valid reason.

"A big part of the problem is that a lot of the people you call for help are located out of state,'' said McCollum, as quoted by the Miami Herald. "Today we brought the banks to you, and you'll have an opportunity to sit down with a human being to get some kind of relief.''