Press Releases & Opinion

 

  • AG Settlement: Not Perfect, but Significant Reform of Mortgage Servicing
    January 24, 2012
    Based on what we’ve heard, the settlement between major banks and the states’ Attorneys General (AGs), the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Justice would represent an important step forward in addressing foreclosure abuses.
  • Mandated Down Payments would Block Creditworthy Home Buyers
    January 18, 2012
    As federal regulators consider setting down-payment standards on new mortgages, a new study shows such rules could push 60 percent of creditworthy borrowers into high-cost loans or out of the market altogether.
  • New CFPB Director is Good News for Consumers, Firms, & US Economy
    January 4, 2012
    Today's appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is welcome news. Finally, the agency can run at full speed.
  • Challenges to Lending in N.C.
    December 24, 2011
    North Carolina has been a leader in finding effective solutions to predatory lending, and enacting laws that strike an effective balance between strong financial markets and fair consumer protections. Now models for other states and Congress, these landmark protections are in danger of being reversed by current efforts in the N.C. General Assembly.
  • Entire Market Benefits from DOJ Settlement with Countrywide
    December 21, 2011
    Today’s Department of Justice fair lending settlement with Countrywide Financial is welcome news in a housing market still reeling from the costs of rampant predatory lending. Countrywide was the largest of the rogue mortgage lenders that caused the current crisis. Regulators’ lax lending rules and loose oversight allowed these bad practices to flourish.
  • Senate votes against Consumers and Economic Recovery
    December 8, 2011
    By a vote of 53-45 today, Senators failed to confirm Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Now there’s a clear record of who wants a return to the policies that sparked the financial crisis and taxpayer bailouts, and who wants reforms to make sure it never happens again.
  • “Lost Ground:” CRL Research Shows Foreclosure Crisis Not Halfway
    November 17, 2011
    The report—Lost Ground, 2011—finds that 2.7 million of the mortgages made at the height of the housing bubble have ended in foreclosure and at least another 3.6 million likely will fail in the next few years. African-American and Latino families have suffered a disproportionate share of losses, and differences in income and credit history don't explain why—but predatory mortgages do.
  • U.S. Needs Consumer Financial Protection Head ASAP
    October 6, 2011
    While the protests on Wall Street have the media spotlight these days, there is an even broader, bipartisan majority of Americans who support financial reform and want a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). So it’s good that the Senate Banking Committee today approved the nomination of Richard Cordray as Director of the CFPB. Mr. Cordray has a strong track record in dealing with consumer finance issues and is a proven leader.
  • Latest MBA and HOPE NOW Reports on Foreclosures and Prevention
    August 24, 2011
    Taken together, the MBA and HOPE NOW reports show we are nowhere near bringing foreclosures under control.
  • Abuses Continue To Plague Auto Financing Industry, Hurt Consumers
    July 27, 2011
    Over 38 million vehicles were financed through an auto dealer last year, with many loaded with abusive lending practices that cost Americans billions of dollars. Auto dealers often steer unsuspecting buyers into overpriced loans, especially when kickbacks from the bank to the dealer are involved. Until now such practices have continued largely unknown to consumers and unregulated, but new consumer protection laws have changed that by giving the FTC new oversight authority.