CRL in the News

“Although it occurs, it’s rare for people to be openly racist. Most of the discrimination happens in a manner that the only way to prevent it is through disparate impact enforcement,” said Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending. “And if you say no disparate impact enforcement, you’re largely saying no discrimination enforcement at all.”

Mick Mulvaney, President Trump's acting head of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, for example, has been openly contemptuous of the agency he now runs. "We just have seen a general retreat from enforcing the fair lending laws and ensuring that fair housing opportunities are available to everyone," said Melissa Stegman, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending.

Republicans lawmakers are expected to overturn a rule designed to prevent discrimination by auto lenders. It’s part of a broader effort to roll back other regs using the Congressional Review Act.

"Mick Mulvaney has just told bankers he can hide their misconduct from the public by making the complaint database private," said Debbie Goldstein, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending. "If he does so, he will be making it easier for predatory lenders to fleece consumers. That would violate the mission that Congress gave the consumer bureau: to protect consumers and make markets more transparent."

Debbie Goldstein, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending, told me such practices have been an open secret in the auto industry for many years. "People just aren't treated with fairness and respect by dealers," she said.

“Mick Mulvaney is letting predatory payday lenders off the hook while they rip off American consumers,” Diane Standaert, executive vice president for the consumer watchdog group, said in a statement. “The companies...have a well-documented history of causing borrowers financial devastation. If they have committed illegal actions, they should be held accountable.”

Still, even with the stepped-up enforcement, there are concerns that the state AGs can’t go after the really big financial companies such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America. States tend to go after smaller, state-chartered banks or non-banks like payday lenders and mortgage brokers. They also have less of a budget than the CFPB and thus may not be as effective as the federal government in holding the big firms accountable. “There really is no substitute for the CFPB, as we saw in the run-up to the last recession,” said Lisa Stifler, deputy director of state policy for the Center for Responsible

Payday lenders are companies that lend customers small amounts of money at high-interest rates with the agreement that the borrower will pay that money back. In Florida, payday lenders are preying on Black pastors and Civil Rights organizations and continue to expand their business as they hurt people. Roland Martin talks with Rev. Sekinah Hamlin, Director, Faith & Credit Roundtable with the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) about the influence of Payday Loans on African-Americans. “It’s based on a business model that goes against biblical teaching that robs the poor just because they are

To get the best rate possible, before heading to a dealership, check your credit scores and get preapproved for an auto loan. You can still get financed on the spot, but “now you have this pretty strong negotiating chip to help you get an even better rate from the dealer,” says Delvin Davis, senior research analyst at the Center for Responsible Lending.

While many consumers choose to buy aftermarket products, they’ve also generated complaints. “Each of these products is very expensive—if you finance them through the dealership they’re marked up 100% to 150%,” said Delvin Davis, senior research associate at the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit focusing on consumer finance. “A lot of times the products are put into the contract without consumers’ full knowledge and consent.”