CRL in the News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Katko has joined with some ideological foes – Elizabeth Warren and Jerrold Nadler – to help some of the 44 million Americans trying to repay $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. The Democrats and Katko, R-Camillus, introduced a bill Thursday that would give borrowers who declare bankruptcy the option of having their student loan debt forgiven.

Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will reportedly introduce new legislation today capping credit card and consumer loan interest rates at 15 percent and also set penalties for companies that violate the law “including a forfeiture of all interest on the illegal loans,” according to the Intercept. The proposed cap would be six percent lower than the current median interest rate of 21.36 percent, according to the Washington Post, though it’s three percent higher than the median interest was just a decade ago. For those with poor credit scores, the average rate is 24.99 percent, meaning

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is making plans to enter the technology age with its proposal to change the rules for debt collectors. While it’s great that they’re getting more specific about what is and isn’t allowed, you’re almost certainly not going to love all the changes.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday rolled out a highly anticipated package of proposed debt collection regulations, saying it aims to clarify and modernize consumer communication and disclosure standards

Over the past several years, debate has raged among policymakers at the federal level about the best way to ensure for-profit colleges provide students with a decent college education, and don’t burden their students with high levels of debt they can’t repay. Toward the end of their tenure, Obama administration officials implemented two rules aimed at cracking down on for-profit colleges, over resistance from Congressional Republicans and the for-profit college industry. One, known as the gainful employment rule, required programs that train students for careers to show that a decent share of

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a highly anticipated proposal on Tuesday to update the rules governing debt collectors, establishing new guidelines on disclosure and the number of times a collector can contact a consumer. The proposed rule, which has been in the works since 2013, drew tepid praise from the industry and condemnation from some consumer advocates. Debt collection is consistently among the top sources of consumer complaints in the CFPB database. The bureau received 81,500 complaints related to debt collection in 2018 — 25 percent of all the complaints it received

Normally, Amazon opening up yet another store wouldn't necessarily make headlines. The company has 12 Amazon Go stores, three Amazon 4-Star stores, five Amazon Pop Ups, 19 Amazon Books stores, and four malls "presented" by Amazon. But Tuesday's unveil of its latest "lineless" store in the heart of New York City's financial district is notable because it's the e-commerce giant's first location to accept cash. Prior to Tuesday, if you wanted to shop at one of Amazon's offline stores, you'd need to be able to pay with a credit card or a mobile payment system. Just to get into the 1,300 square

If you carry a balance and can get a low interest rate, you might consider getting a fixed-rate card. But fixed-rate credit cards can be difficult to find and may come with other drawbacks. Here's a look at whether these cards might be a good option for you.

WASHINGTON – The federal government promised college students in 2007 that if they took their degrees and went into a public service profession, they could apply to have whatever student loan debts they still had after 10 years forgiven. So far, the reality has been somewhat different. When the first 29,000 applications were filed with the Department of Education last year, just 96 were OK’d, an approval rate of 0.33 percent.

Want to know which banks target people of color for loans with high interest rates, steep fees or reverse mortgages? Or which banks deny home loans to African Americans and Latinos even when their income shows they could easily cover the monthly payment? You won’t be able to find out if new regulations proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau go through. The Trump administration on Thursday announced its intention to roll back rules adopted in 2015 under President Barack Obama, which dramatically expanded the public’s access to home mortgage information. At the same time, the CFPB