Editorial: More openness helps consumers

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 1998 | 11:27 a.m.

But until the Sun obtained previously confidential documents from the state Financial Institutions Division, it wasn't known that warning signals had flashed as early as 1990 regarding the now defunct Harley Harmon Mortgage Co. As reporter Steve Kanigher noted Sunday, these documents revealed an uneven pattern of compliance by the company with state regulations throughout the 1990s.

What's also unnerving is that the Financial Institutions Division's policy has been to keep these records from the public. It took a formal request by the Sun to get the information made public.

Under Nevada law, the Financial Institutions commissioner can withhold documents and reports which "in his judgment the public welfare or the welfare of any mortgage company requires to be so withheld." This gives the commissioner too much latitude to withhold vital information that potential investors deserve.

The 1999 Nevada Legislature should amend this law so that these annual examinations by the state are made public. At the same time, because it is a competitive industry, proprietary information shouldn't be released to the public.

But the findings of the state's annual examination that details a mortgage company's compliance with state regulations and laws should be released. More openness would serve consumers and help instill public trust in this industry.