Press Releases

With today's settlement with Ally Financial, Inc. and Ally Bank (Ally), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Justice took a major step to combat the longstanding problem of discrimination in car loans originated by automobile dealers. The practice that leads to this discrimination is auto loan "markups," when car dealers charge their customers higher rates than they qualify for. The dealer then retains some or all of the difference from the loan purchaser as compensation. During the past decade, these markups have been the subject of a number of lawsuits that found that

Today's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enforcement action against CashCall marks a decisive strike in the ongoing crackdown on payday lenders' defective business model. The CFPB found that loan servicer CashCall's practices of collecting loans on behalf of online lender Western Sky were unfair, deceptive, and abusive. This action is another example of ongoing collaboration between federal and state law enforcement. In addition to the CFPB, both North Carolina and Colorado filed suit against CashCall; North Carolina also sued Western Sky. State consumer protections provided the

We commend the U.S. Senate for confirming Representative Mel Watt as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Representative Watt is eminently qualified to run this crucial agency based on his decades of experience as a real estate attorney and member of the House Financial Services Committee. He has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to work with a variety of stakeholders to craft practical and fair solutions. In his new post, he will apply these same qualities to help put the housing finance market on the right path. ### For more information, contact Ellen Schloemer at 919-539-9092

Good news for banking customers: Today the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized guidance that effectively directs the banks they supervise to end abusive practices inherent in payday lending. This is a key step in recognizing the predatory nature of loans with triple-digit interest rates. The guidance also affirms the importance of requiring lenders to assess a borrower's ability to repay loans and establishes a clear limit on repeat loans. Although this guidance applies only to banks supervised by the FDIC and OCC, we

For many years, we have warned that payday loans are a defective product designed to trap consumers in debt. Today's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enforcement action against Cash America—one of the largest payday lenders in the U.S.—shows multiple harms to consumers that go beyond the inherent abuses of the product.A remarkable array of activities led up to the CFPB action.First, Cash America restructured its loans to avoid Ohio's voter-approved 28% APR cap---a practice that is currently under review by the Ohio State Supreme Court. Then the CFPB investigation found that Cash

Debt settlement[ 1] programs too often are not the solution they are marketed to be, according to new CRL research. Debt settlement companies promote their programs as a way for debt-strapped consumers to become debt-free while paying a fraction of what they owe their creditors. However, CRL's new research report, A Roll of the Dice: Debt Settlement Still a Risky Strategy for Debt-Burdened Households, shows that debt settlement program participants may be left in a worse financial position than where they started and, furthermore, have no way to assess their likelihood of success before

The Center for Responsible Lending applauds the Federal Trade Commission for its tough new guidance against deceptive practices by vocational schools. "The FTC's new guidance on vocational schools identifies some of the most deceptive practices by for-profit colleges," said Maura Dundon, Senior Policy Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending. "For-profit colleges that mislead students about their expected salaries, job placement, or the quality of the education should take notice that they are violating the FTC Act. The guidance does not technically extend to all for-profit colleges, but

Quietly and unexpectedly, the Massachusetts House passed HB 3569 via a voice vote on Wednesday. Yesterday, nearly two dozen consumer protection experts and community groups working to stop predatory lending in Massachusetts issued a major sign-on letter raising concerns about HB 3569 advancing further in the State legislature. The coalition letter is available online here. The troublesome legislation would reverse a long-standing statewide policy against for-profit debt relief services (including debt settlement) and allow providers to charge unlimited fees. The groups contend that the

CRL remains a strong supporter of Congressman Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Rep. Watt is eminently qualified to run the agency and help put the housing market on the right path. We are deeply disappointed with today's outcome and urge the Senate to reconsider this important nomination. For more information, contact Ellen Schloemer at 919-539-9092 or ellen.schloemer@responsiblelending.org

Starting today, U.S. consumers sending money abroad will have more information on the fees and other terms of their remittance transfers, along with added protections against unfair or deceptive practices. These changes come as a result of rules published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The World Bank projects that the global remittance market will top $700 billion by 2016. The U.S. has more immigrants than anywhere else in the world, and fees on outbound remittances here total more than $2 billion each year, according to Javelin Research and Strategy. The new rules require