1.   The loan applicant needs assurance that his proposals for future operations are soundly based.

2.   Another concern, expressed by Consumers Union, was that lenders might seek to require loan applicants to purchase another product, a tie-in generally barred by law.

3.   For example, mortgage fraud, in which loan applicants submit false financial data to secure credit, has climbed significantly.

4.   For security, digital photographs are taken of the loan applicant.

5.   Frequently, a loan applicant is instructed by a loan officer to list only a few or only the most important of his debts.

6.   In its complaint, the FTC charged Money Tree and Martin with discriminating against loan applicants who received public assistance such as Social Security or Veterans Administration benefits.

7.   Indeed, a last-minute surge of loan applicants may yet materialize.

8.   Some loan applicants showed sophisticated ruses, like dual sets of preparer-signed returns and ghost businesses.

9.   The loan applicants answered ads placed on publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune.

10.   The process was so slow and cumbersome that banks would try to verify information on only a small percentage of their loan applicants.