WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is moving closer to giving home buyers more protection from the types of shady lending practices that have contributed to the housing crisis and propelled foreclosures to record highs.

Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues were expected to approve a plan yesterday that would crack down on dubious lending practices that have hurt many of the riskiest "sub-prime" borrowers — people with tarnished credit histories or low incomes.

In that regard, the plan would:

• Bar lenders from making loans without proof of a borrower's income.

• Require lenders to make sure risky borrowers set aside money to pay for taxes and insurance.

• Restrict lenders from penalizing risky borrowers who pay loans off early. Such "prepayment" penalties are banned if the payment can change during the initial four years of the mortgage. In other cases, a penalty can't be imposed in the first two years of the mortgage.

• Prohibit lenders from making a loan without considering a borrower's ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home's value. The borrower need not have to prove that the lender engaged in a "pattern or practice" for this to be deemed a violation. That marks a change — sought by consumer advocates — from the Fed's initial proposal and should make it easier for borrowers to lodge a complaint.

"Rates of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures have been increasing rapidly lately, imposing large costs on borrowers, their communities and the national economy," said Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.