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VP of Community Development, Fifth Third Bank

Byna Elliott is Detroit's financial police officer. From her office at Fifth Third Bank, the vice president of community development routinely "patrols" over the community's burgeoning economic landscape to ensure that mortgage and banking entities abide by the laws of fair lending.

"As an advocate for equal access to credit for everyone, I thought it was important from a financial institution's perspective to really talk to the NAACP and its members about the responsibility of lenders in partnering with our communities to make sure they really thrive," she said after a panel discussion during the NAACP convention. "Some of the challenges are the lack of regulatory oversight over the mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers and mortgage broker companies."

Regardless of your pedigree or socioeconomic status, Elliott implores the scores of homeowner aspirants to educate themselves sufficiently to prevent becoming a victim of predatory lending. It's a role that she relishes.

"It's about helping people. If you're doing this job just to collect a paycheck, I don't think that's a rewarding or useful use of your time," she says. "It's about changing lives. It's about helping the community. And it's [about] helping people who look like me to prosper, to gain wealth, and really grow and change our community." - terry shropshire

For more information, log onto www.53.com, www.fanniemae.gov, www.freddiemac.com or www.fha.gov.

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