CRL in the News

WASHINGTON — Recent steps allowing more lenders to skip outside appraisals are seen as removing a key hurdle to closings, but appraisers say they could be collateral damage from the deregulatory policies. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a proposal last month to raise the threshold for residential real estate transactions that require an appraisal from $250,000 to $400,000. Lenders would still be required to obtain an evaluation for sales under the $400,000 limit, which the agencies say would “reduce burden in a manner

A recent op-ed by Cato Institute policy analyst Diego Zuluaga suggested that lawmakers should eliminate the Community Reinvestment Act, claiming this law is inefficient and other safeguards are already in place to push back against discriminatory lending. The belief that the CRA should be scrapped is misguided and tone-deaf — unlawful discrimination in mortgage lending remains a real challenge for far too many Americans, as this year’s Center for Investigative Reporting documented in a groundbreaking yearlong study. Further, the homeownership rate for blacks is at a 50-year historic low.

College-sponsored bank accounts ding students with millions of dollars in fees each year, according to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Education Department under President Donald Trump never published the analysis but advocacy groups recently obtained it through a Freedom of Information Act request. The bureau reviewed 573 colleges across the country with marketing agreements with banks. It found that 1.3 million students attending these colleges had open and active accounts with their colleges’ account providers. Students using accounts at these schools paid more

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Ask Galen and Alice Henderson about their dream home, and the couple doesn't skip a beat. There would be a finished basement, they say. A two-car garage. A big backyard. And three bedrooms so their children - Zahir, 8, and Jamyah, 13 - don't have to share one. Nothing too fancy, they say, just a place to call their own. "Right now, we're in a two-bedroom," Galen Henderson said, describing the duplex his family rents on Old Valley Court SE in Kentwood. "We're stepping on each other's toes." Homeownership is a touchstone of the American dream. It's seen as a stepping stone to

A new poll shows that student loan debt and predatory practices by some lenders that make paying loans back increasingly expensive prevents a majority of borrowers in the state from buying a home, a car or paying for necessities, and has spurred as many as one in four to move out of state for better-paying jobs. Female borrowers, those who attended a for-profit college and borrowers in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties are more likely to have issues because of high student loan debt, nearly $6 billion in the state. Issues include affording necessities, attending doctor appointments

Three months ago, one of the government’s top student loan watchdogs, Seth Frotman, stepped down from his job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with a scathing resignation letter that criticized the Trump administration for undermining the agency’s enforcement efforts. Then he took some people with him.

The racial wealth gap is the disparity in median household wealth between the different races. Home equity is a large percentage of most families’ wealth. As a result, increasing minority homeownership is critical to closing the gap.

Bank regulators have not come out with a formal plan for updating the Community Reinvestment Act, but a preliminary list of questions about the reform effort issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has produced a treasure trove of public feedback to guide their deliberations.

Maxine Waters of California is known as a partisan firebrand who gives as good as she gets, especially where President Trump is concerned. Now, with Democrats assuming control of the House in January, the California Democrat is about to become more visible than ever before, with the power to slow down an important part of Trump's agenda and even shine a light on his company's finances. "She is a tough and savvy defender of consumer protection and holds the feet of the banks and the Trump administration regulators to the fire," says Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending.

Colorado voters have overwhelmingly opted for tighter regulations on payday lending, easily approving a proposal to cap interest rates on the short-term loans. Colorado is now the 16th state, plus the District of Columbia, to limit loan rates. “APRs of 200% are gone. Huge win for Colorado consumers!” tweeted Danny Katz, the director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group on Tuesday night.