Deval Patrick defends work for subprime mortgage lender

Democratic presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks to local residents during a stop at the Sykora Bakery, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Deval Patrick is defending his work for one of the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lenders, telling voters there’s “a place in the economy” for the financial tools — the abuse of which led to the 2008 housing market crash.

Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor who launched his campaign for president last week, served on the board of ACC Holdings from 2004 to 2006.

Ameriquest, a subsidiary of ACC Holdings, was under investigation by numerous state attorneys general for alleged predatory lending practices during some of Patrick’s time on the board.

Patrick said during a campaign event in Iowa that his role with the company was to help it “reach the folks that had been unreached in getting access to capital, so that they could also own homes.”