CRL in the News

Small-dollar, short-term lenders, unburdened by a federal maximum interest rate, can charge borrowers rates of 400% or more for their loans. But more states are bringing that number down by setting rate caps to curb high-interest lending. Currently, 18 states and Washington, D.C. , have laws that limit short-term loan rates to 36% or lower, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Other states are weighing similar legislation.

Listen to an interview with Kerri Smith of the South Carolina Fair Lending Alliance on Rhonda Rawlings on 107.3 JAMZ as they discuss the dangers of predatory lending in South Carolina.

Speed counts and any sluggishness is a particular problem now, Klein said. “That time delay costs American living on the edge millions, billions in fees,” he added. Banks collected approximately $11.7 billion in overdraft fees in 2019, according to study last year from the Center for Responsible Lending.

“While the current payment pause and interest waiver has helped millions of borrowers… [it] cannot be a substitute for across-the-board student debt cancellation,” Ashley Harrington, a higher education expert at the Center for Responsible Lending, told Yahoo Finance. “And while it is great that the time in suspension counts towards IDR and PSLF, we know that these and other programs are desperately in need of improvement as very few borrowers have actually received relief through them.”

“While some of today's schemes might be dressed up a little bit fancier with the fintech aura than the older schemes, they still have the same rent-a-bank evasion,” said Lisa Stifler, director of state policy at the Center for Responsible Lending.

“Systemic discrimination continues to limit housing opportunity for Black and brown communities and stunts our country’s economic growth,” said Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president with the Center for Responsible Lending.

A wealth gap also persists based on education level, a separate report from the Center for Responsible Lending noted. For those who have a bachelor's degree or higher, the typical white household had $397,000 in wealth, while for Latinos it was $112,700 and for Blacks, it was $72,450. For whites with a high school education or less, household wealth was $105,590.

The Biden administration is moving to reinstate two key fair housing rules that were rolled back under President Trump, according to notices published this week by the Office of Management and Budget. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking to restore a 2013 rule outlining its use of the “disparate impact” legal standard in fair-lending cases and the 2015 “affirmatively furthering fair housing” rule meant to guide local jurisdictions on compliance with the Fair Housing Act.

“There is clear evidence that payday lenders target people of color,” said Marisabel Torres, director of California policy at the Center for Responsible Lending. She told me her organization is troubled by “any idea that mainstream banks are for white communities, while people who have historically struggled for middle-class security are offered predatory, wealth-stripping products.”

Also, the programs to help people who miss payments are better this time around, said Mike Calhoun, who runs the Center for Responsible Lending. “The good news is that those payments are generally added simply to the end of the loan with no additional fees or interest.”