Comment Letter

This comment was filed in response to the Department of the Treasury’s request for information on marketplace lending. Our history of advocacy for fair lending practices, and against unfair ones, is the lens through which we focus these comments, where we emphasize: Online marketplace loans must comply with applicable state law Underwriting for ability-to-repay, based on income and expenses, should be required for every loan Small business loan protections, including prohibition of broker steering, are critical Mandatory arbitration clauses should be prohibited

The right loan-level certification requirements will make it possible for consumers to be protected from risky mortgage products, for FHA to operate a safe and sustainable mortgage insurance program, and for lenders to have the clarity and certainty they need about enforcement standards to expand access to FHA-insured mortgage credit.

On July 30, 2015, the Center for Responsible Lending joined Higher Ed Not Debt, Consumers Union, Consumer Action, Generation Progress, National Consumer Law Center, Student Debt Crisis, United States Student Association, Veterans for Education Success, and the Woodstock Institute in sending this letter to Debbie Matz, Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration. The letter concerns private student loans to students at for-profit colleges made by federally chartered credit unions, federally insured state chartered credit unions, and Credit Union Service Organizations.

H.R. 1210 would weaken the CFPB's Ability-to-Repay standards for mortgage loans. These standards are designed to protect consumers against the kind of toxic and exploitative mortgage loans which helped cause the financial crisis and led to massive consumer losses, and should not be weakened. The bill would allow depository institutions that hold a loan in portfolio to receive a legal safe harbor, even if the loans present safety and soundness concerns and contain terms and features that are abusive and harmful to consumers.

HUD/FHA is proposing to amend language on their certification forms where lenders certify that a loan is eligible for FHA financing (insurance). We believe the proposed language is a step in the right direction, but we offer additional suggestions. The components of our recommended framework to FHA include providing a certification that includes provisions for all of the following: The requirement that a lender exercise due diligence and good faith in underwriting a FHA-insured mortgage loan A strong quality control obligation on the part of all FHA insurance lenders An automatic obligation to...

A letter to the president of the National Automobile Dealers Association, calling on him to release the data showing the amount customers who finance cars pay in dealer interest rate markup.

Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) filed a public comment on urgently needed rules proposed by the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) that would require payday lenders to follow California law by prohibiting the use of electronic transfers and debit cards in payday transactions. The rules would also create a new real-time electronic database to enforce existing law requirements that borrowers take out only one loan at a time. CRL Senior Policy and Enforcement Strategy Counsel Caryn Becker said: The DBO's proposals will limit payday lender practices only to those...

Fifteen student, consumer, civil rights, and labor groups co-signed a letter (4 pages) in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed rule on prepaid cards. The groups suggest that the new rule would support similar actions by the Department of Education, aimed to protect students using prepaid cards. The groups state: College students are a key segment of the prepaid market – but prepaid cards lack essential consumer protections Exclusive revenue-sharing and other marketing agreements between colleges and prepaid card issues exacerbate the lack of consumer protections...

Fifteen consumer, student, civil rights, and legal aid groups co-signed a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray in response to the agency's Request for Information about the Student Safe Account Scorecard. The organizations supported the Scorecard and stated: Colleges and universities must begin to put the best interest of students first when negotiation with banks and prepaid card issuers The Student Safe Account Scorecard is a voluntary tool for schools to use in their bidding process with financial institutions The Scorecard would help schools select safe...

In this letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray the Center for Responsible Lending and the National Consumer Law Center respond to the agency's Request for Information about the Student Safe Account Scorecard, which would guide colleges to select safe bank accounts if they enter into marketing partnerships with banks. In the letter, the two organizations support the Scorecard as a way to help protect students, and call for: An end to college-bank partnerships that threaten students with unfair marketing practices and harmful fees The elimination of revenue...