Research

Congressional Review Act H.J. Res. 132 seeks to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 guidance addressing indirect auto lending. This guidance describes auto lenders’ responsibility, established by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, to avoid discriminatory lending practices. Download this factsheet for more information on these discriminatory practices.

Download an overview of the main points in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) final payday loan rule.

The Trump Administration and Congressional leaders have taken actions that put corporate interests ahead of struggling students. Download a factsheet of important legislative and regulatory actions for which to watch.

In recent decades, an increase in consumer debt has led to substantial growth in the debt collection industry as Americans struggled to pay down their debts. A subset of the debt collection industry, debt buyers, emerged in the wake of this growth in consumer debt. Debt buyers purchase debts from lenders and other creditors at a steep discount and then attempt to collect the debt themselves, often without the underlying documentation of the debt. With the advent and growth of debt buyers has come an increase in the use of litigation to collect debts. Because of their use of the court system to...

Congressional Review Act S.J. Res. 57 seeks to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 guidance addressing indirect auto lending. This guidance describes auto lenders’ responsibility, established by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, to avoid discriminatory lending practices. Download this factsheet for more information on these discriminatory practices.

The payday lenders promote myths in an effort to kill the CFPB’s payday loan rule aimed at stopping their 300% interest debt trap. The facts that dispel some common myths can be found here.

H.R. 4861 (Hollingsworth), the so-called EQUAL Act, invites banks to get back into the business of 200-300% interest payday loans that trap customers in unaffordable debt. The bill would rescind the FDIC’s 2013 guidance addressing bank payday (“deposit advance)” loans; exempt banks and credit unions from the CFPB’s final payday loan rule; and provide for express federal preemption of state law for bank and credit union small dollar loans.

Mark Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League Michael F. Molesky, senior financial economist Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) The proposed housing finance legislation would impose great harm on affordable housing efforts and the overall housing market. Proponents of the legislation do not address the damage the proposal would do by repealing the existing structural protections for equitable housing access for all areas of the country, all lenders, and all credit-worthy borrowers. In addition, their cost projections for the proposed system use...

Almost eight years after Colorado enacted a payday law reform bill in 2010, payday lenders in Colorado continue to ensnare customers in a cycle of high-cost debt. Customers are drawn in by promises of easy cash. But as the high costs mount, the struggle to cover monthly expenses is compounded by the struggle to cover the cost of the payday loan. The resulting cycle of debt is often difficult to escape. This report analyzes data published by the Colorado Attorney General’s Consumer Credit Unit (2016 Deferred Deposit/Payday Lenders Annual Report) , and the Attorney General’s Demographic and...

S. 2155 would re-expose consumers to reckless and abusive financial practices, including many that contributed to the last recession and foreclosure crisis. The bill weakens crucial consumer protections, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule and Ability-to-Repay standard. The bill would also let Wall Street greed once again threaten to bring down the U.S. economy. Download the two-page factsheet.