View our infographic summary of consumer protections in 2013 Responsible financial products and services play an important role in the lives of Americans: helping families pay for goods and services, manage risk, borrow to build assets and save and invest for the future. However, predatory features of financial products and services can have devastating consequences. They can trap consumers in a debt cycle that they can't escape, fool consumers into paying for what they don't want or surprise consumers with hidden fees and costs. Consumer advocates work to reform financial products and...
CRL monitors developments across the consumer finance sector and acts to protect people’s pocketbooks from financial misconduct so families can build financial stability. This includes advocating for enforcement of laws banning discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, and other protected characteristics. CRL also fights to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a crucial government watchdog that was established in the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis to stop predatory practices.
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Download the Report As a supplement to our full research publications, these resources tell the story of our on-going State of Lending research series visually, through graphs, charts, maps, and video. Related chapters: Mortgages , Auto Loans , Credit Cards , Student Loans The Spillover Cost of Foreclosures by State The Three Scapegoats Your Next Car Loan: Avoid Paying Too Much Prepaid Cards: Which is Best For You Growth in Plastic Payments Student Loans: Federal vs. Private Related chapters: Car-Title Loans , Overdraft Loans , Bank Payday Loans , Payday Loans Car-Title Borrowers' Two Bad...
August 8, 2013 This legislative session was truly like no other in recent history. Many changes to existing laws were made, and certainly our laws protecting consumers from predatory lending were targeted. A stated objective of the 2013 legislature was to reduce regulation and revise North Carolina's business-related laws to be no more stringent than federal law. This, coupled with the highly polarized political environment and the ample campaign contributions of our opponents, created challenges for us this legislative session. We also faced a large number of freshman legislators unfamiliar...
June 20, 2013 Learn about a pair of stalled payday lending bills, a bill to authorize predatory car title lending bill, a just signed consumer installment loan law that raises rates and fees, and a predatory mortgage lending bill in committee in our June 2013 NC legislative update. Payday bills stalled (SB 89/HB 875) Car title lending bill stalled (HB 721) Consumer installment bill signed by Governor (SB 489) Predatory mortgage lending bill still in committee (HB 692) Two Payday Bills Stalled (SB 89 / HB 875) Fourteen payday lobbyists pushing to keep their bills alive. Two companion payday...
State of Lending outlines predatory lending practices in various fields of consumer lending, and explains why protecting fair, affordable access to credit is vital for both consumers and the U.S. economy. It also describes the regulatory and legislative actions needed to halt the predatory lending practices that exist today and prevent the rise of new abuses. Read the Foreword Return to Index Next Chapter
This chapter in the State of Lending report series describes the overall financial status of U.S. households today--their income, spending, debts, and wealth. It tells the story of financial challenges that consumers have faced in the past decade, and how these have made Americans more vulnerable to predatory lending. It also describes how household financial health is central to our nation's economic well-being. Read the Chapter Previous Chapter Next Chapter Overview [Video] CRL Research Director M William Sermons covers the key findings of the "America's Household Balance Sheet" chapter of...
This latest report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy found that in 2007 nearly $13 million were lost by working West Virginians through refund anticipation loans. Out of the nearly 77,000 West Virginians that used a RAL in 2007, nearly 60 percent of them were recipients of the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal program designed to help low-to-moderate income working families with their tax burden. Despite the state's strong laws protecting consumers from other forms of predatory lending, the report also found that nearly 5 percent of the federal EITC funds coming into the state...