Center For Responsible Lending - A Resource For Predatory Lending Opponents

Restructuring of mortgage loans gets tougher
08/24/08, The Arizona Republic
In January, loan analyst Moe Bedard noticed a promising development in the mortgage-servicing industry: More lenders started restructuring distressed borrowers' loans to avert foreclosure. But in the months that followed, the trend reversed itself.

Building communities keeps Self-Help on track
08/20/08, News and Observer
Lender, developer has avoided missteps of others in industry.

Help Available In Foreclosures In North Carolina
08/19/08, News & Observer
Gov. Mike Easley signed three bills aimed at protecting homeowners facing foreclosure, stopping mortgage brokers from benefiting from high- cost loans and giving North Carolina more authority over companies that service mortgage loans.

Ballot taking shape on Ohio's new payday-lending law
08/15/08, Blade Columbus
COLUMBUS - In perhaps the first battle of the Nov. 4 election, both sides of an effort to keep a new payday lending law from taking effect managed to inflict a few wounds.

Ohio critics question payday signatures
08/13/08, Zanesville Times Recorder
People gathering petition signatures to help repeal one of the nation's toughest payday lending laws are misleading voters, critics said Tuesday.

States Imposing Interest-Rate Caps to Rein In Payday Lenders
08/09/08, Wall Street Journal
As subprime mortgages continue to demonstrate the damage to borrowers and the economy when risky loans are made to sometimes unsophisticated consumers, politicians who once steered clear of limiting the availability of credit now find "fair lending" laws that cap interest rates more palatable.

Freshman Finance 101
08/20/08, Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Contrary to what parents and students believe, many banks cover debit-card overdrafts -- and then exact a fee, typically about $35, for each transaction.

5 Sneaky Overdraft Traps
08/18/08, SmartMoney
Incurring a small fortune in overdraft fees no longer requires a poorly-balanced checkbook.

Cost of overdraft protection continues to rise
08/07/08, Orlando Sentinel
The nation's 10 largest banks -- including four of the top five in Central Florida -- boosted overdraft fees an average of 15 percent in the past few years, a new study reported this week.

Limits on title loans called a 'good start'
07/24/08, Chicago Tribune
State officials moved Wednesday to close a loophole that has allowed title loan companies to dodge consumer protection rules the state implemented seven years ago.

House panel backs curbs on credit card practices
07/31/08, Reuters
Legislation aimed at curbing credit card billing practices that surprise borrowers with unexpected interest rate increases and fees was approved on Thursday by a U.S. House of Representatives committee.

New misery in fine print for users of credit cards
07/27/08, SILive.com
When it comes to credit-card fees, the devil is the detailed disclosure statement. And that devil is rearing his head much more often.

Bills limit student credit cards
07/23/08, Columbus Dispatch
Among a flurry of bills designed to rein in credit-card companies is a proposal that would make it harder for college students to qualify.