North Carolina. Democratic Gov. Mike Easely has vetoed legislation that would have allowed mortgage lenders to collect higher origination fees. H.B. 917, which passed in the state legislature by a wide margin, would have raised the origination fee charged by lenders to borrowers by 1 percent to 3 percent. Lenders are allowed to charge up to a 15 percent interest rate on home loans in the state. Easley was concerned that non-bank lenders could