A payday lender is accused of stealing millions from customers. Trump’s CFPB is now letting them off the hook.

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Alexia Fernández Campbell | Vox
“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.”

States Step Up Where CFPB Steps Back

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Pymnts.com
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

Roland Martin: The Payday Loan Lobby’s Influence On Black Pastors

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Diannah Watson | BlackAmericaWeb.com
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

Good Driver, Bad Credit: What Makes Your Car Costs So High

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Lacie Glover | Nerdwallet
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.

Wells Fargo Looks Further Under the Hood at Auto-Lending Issues

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Emily Glazer and Gretchen Morgenson | The Wall Street Journal
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.”

How Andrew Cuomo Failed Student Borrowers

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David Dayen | The Intercept
Student loan servicers have been continually cited for a litany of abuses. First, they neglected to inform borrowers about income-based repayment, under which borrowers pay a percentage of income over 20 or 25 years, and thereafter have the balance forgiven. “The reality is that borrowers shouldn’t be in default if servicers are doing their job,” said Whitney Barkley-Denney of the Center for Responsible Lending. But over 1 million student loan defaults occurred in 2016.

GA Attorney General protects consumers with $8.5 million settlement with debt collector

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Joanne Merrigan | WSAV3 News
"I think it's important for people to know if they are being contacted or harassed by debt collectors that they have rights," said Diane Standaert. "People shouldn't be ashamed of dealing with the problem and seeking help because if something like this (in debt collection) isn't dealt with quickly it can balloon into much bigger problems down the line." Standaert says debt collection is "something that is affecting people throughout the state of Georgia." She says people should know they're not alone and advises that if you think a debt collector is violating the law that you should contact an

Does the Trump administration’s plan to modernize anti-blight laws stack up?

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Aaron Glantz and Emmanuel Martinez | Reveal
But Scott Astrada, a lobbyist for the Center for Responsible Lending – a non-profit advocacy group that participated in the talks that led to the report – said that could provide an incentive for banks to behave badly. “If I’m not doing my job right, but if I can do it in more areas, expanding a job not being well done, doesn’t make it a better job,” Astrada said.

The Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Asks Congress to Gut His Own Agency

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Hannah Levintova | Mother Jones
Mulvaney also advises that Congress create an independent inspector general dedicated to overseeing the CFPB. Debbie Goldstein of the Center for Responsible Lending, a financial services watchdog group, calls the suggestion “a red herring” given that the CFPB is already overseen by an inspector general that also monitors the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.