Press Releases

Report Calls for Repeal of CFPB’s Payday Rule and Override of State Laws WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued a new report calling for broad deregulation of nonbank lenders, including financial technology (fintech) firms. Specifically, the report endorses the repeal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Payday Rule, the creation of special federal bank charters for fintech firms, regulatory “sandboxes” that exempt startups from certain consumer protection laws, and federal preemption of state consumer protection laws. These recommendations fly in the

DURHAM, N.C. – A new Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) report reveals financial distress among participants of Colorado focus groups who have taken out longer-term payday loans that are touted by payday lenders as a better, more affordable option than traditional short-term (often two-week) payday loans. Colorado banned short-term payday loans in 2010. Participants stuck in long-term payday loans described difficulty paying bills and faced aggressive debt collection. The hardest hit were those experiencing delinquency or default, which currently happens with one in four Colorado payday

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Education released a draft proposal to overhaul the Obama Administration’s Borrower Defense to Repayment rule. The revision would alter how students secure loan forgiveness when institutions fail to deliver promised requisite skills and knowledge. Under the new proposal, student borrowers would qualify for corrective action only when they could document institutional misrepresentations related to the program of study. Further, borrowers would be required to prove that institutional misrepresentations were made with knowledge, intent or a

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (Va.–03), Ranking Member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced the Aim Higher Act, a bill to make higher education institutions—particularly for-profit colleges—more accountable and transparent to the public. The legislation also includes resources to boost college financial aid support programs for low-income students and improves the current loan repayment system. Across the country, 44 million consumers share the still-growing burden of $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. Center for Responsible Lending Counsel

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Kathy Kraninger, the current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Associate Director and President Donald Trump’s nominee for Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is scheduled to have her nomination hearing tomorrow before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Prior to her role at OMB, Kraninger's experience in the federal government has been focused on security issues, having worked at the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. Throughout her government career, Kraninger has had limited

OAKLAND, CALIF. - Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc., one of the country’s largest student loan servicers that was acquired by NelNet Inc. last February, has signaled to the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) that it will not comply with that state’s Student Loan Servicing Act of 2016. The law requires that in order for a servicer to operate in the state, it must apply for state licenses. Great Lakes is claiming that it will follow the U.S. Department of Education's footsteps in seeking to thwart state authority to hold student loan servicers accountable. This move by

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 9, 2018, Brett Kavanaugh, a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was nominated to be the next associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, Kavanaugh authored an opinion for a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit considering an appeal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enforcement order in PHH Corporation vs. CFPB. The CFPB had found that PHH, a non-bank mortgage lender, had violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which generally covers closing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Legislative Counsel Yana Miles released the following statement today regarding Leandra English's decision to step down as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): "Leandra English is a revered public servant with a history of prioritizing consumer protection. Throughout her tenure at the CFPB, even before becoming Acting Director, she worked to significantly improve the lives of people across the country, especially in communities of color. With her help, the agency has been a vigilant enforcer of civil

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from 19 states plus D.C. asserted their states’ authority to protect consumers from financial abuse yesterday in a letter opposing two bills being considered in Congress that would allow lenders to sidestep state consumer protection laws. HR 3299 and HR 4439 would override state interest rate caps by authorizing sham relationships between banks and predatory lenders. Though the bills are being pushed under the guise of promoting “fintech,” their passage would open the flood gates to predatory lending with annual interest rates of

OAKLAND, CA – Yesterday, California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit against Navient Corporation, the nation's largest student loan servicer and its subsidiaries for violations of the state's Unfair Competition and False Advertising Law. Approximately 1.5 million student loan borrowers in California could be affected by the litigation. Specifically, the lawsuit charges that Navient: Steers vulnerable borrowers toward more expensive repayment plans; Fails to adequately disclose how students could access income-driven repayment certification; Misrepresents the order in which