Press Releases
June 12, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yana Miles, a Senior Legislative Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of the Treasury released its review of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a bill signed into law in 2010 that reformed our financial system to prevent abusive financial practices and avoid another Great Recession:
The Treasury Department’s report offers no real solutions to make consumer protection a top priority. It recommends politicizing and weakening the Consumer Financial...
June 8, 2017
Wrong Choice Act eviscerates consumer protections and eliminates safeguards to prevent another Great Recession
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Later today, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass H.R. 10, the so-called Financial Choice Act, an extreme measure that would roll back Dodd-Frank. This radical bill, dubbed the Wrong Choice Act, would expose American families to risky financial practices that were the primary culprits of the 2007 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession. The legislation severely obstructs the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an...
May 24, 2017
WASHINGTON – Consumer and civil rights groups released the following statements today following oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in PHH Corporation vs. CFPB. The hearing is a result of the Court’s decision to grant the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) petition for the full court to hear the case following a panel’s erroneous 2-1 ruling (PDF) that the President may remove the CFPB Director without cause. The panel’s decision last year undermines the agency’s independence to regulate the financial services industry and protect consumers from bad...
May 24, 2017
President's Proposal would Eliminate Consumer Watchdog and Drive Americans Deeper into Debt
WASHINGTON, DC -- Alongside a parade of horribles in the White House budget, the proposal's attempt to completely defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stands out. The Consumer Bureau has returned approximately $12 billion to the pockets of Americans who had money illegally taken from them by the predatory actions of financial companies, including Wells Fargo, payday lenders, and debt collectors.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Legislative Counsel Yana Miles released the...
May 16, 2017
Using the CRA, Congress and White House have Erased Fourteen Regulatory Protections This Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) commended Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), and Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) for introducing the Sunset the CRA and Restore American Protections (SCRAP) Act, a bill to repeal the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA is a fast-track legislative tool that Congress can use to quickly eliminate the previous presidential administration's regulations, which were years or...
May 4, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed along straight party lines the "Wrong CHOICE Act," an extreme bill that would shred essential consumer protections enacted in the wake of the financial crisis through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Separately, the American Bankers Association recently wrote a letter asking President Trump’s Administration to essentially eliminate protections against predatory small dollar loans, including the popular CARD Act, which has saved consumers billions of dollars. Both initiatives call for nixing...
April 26, 2017
Hearing held today on legislation that would shred consumer protections enacted in wake of the financial crisis
WASHINGTON, DC – Today at 10 AM, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on an updated and even more extreme version of the so-called Financial CHOICE Act. This radical bill would expose American families to risky financial practices that contributed to the Great Recession of 2008. For example, the legislation would severely obstruct the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency that has returned nearly $12 billion to 29 million...
April 5, 2017
Amid Baseless Attacks on Consumer Protection Agency, CFPB Director Richard Cordray Testifies Before House Financial Services Committee
Today, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray will testify at a House Financial Services Committee on the 2016 Semi-Annual Reports from his agency. Since its inception in 2010, the independent CFPB has provided 29 million Americans harmed by financial companies with a total of nearly $12 billion in relief, it has helped families across America resolve disputes with unscrupulous lenders, and it has implemented new rules that...
April 3, 2017
Diverse Show of Support for a Strong, Independent Consumer Protection Agency
Today, consumer and civil rights groups, leading legal scholars and members of Congress will submit amicus briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the case of PHH Corporation v. CFPB in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The diverse amici urge the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to maintain a strong, independent agency to protect American consumers.
The filings from consumer watchdogs, civil rights organizations, academics and legislators underscore the legality of CFPB’...
March 28, 2017
Today, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun testified before the House Financial Services Committee’s Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee for a hearing entitled “The State of Bank Lending in America.” Calhoun discussed recent trends in lending and how the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is working to expand credit and strengthen consumer protection, and he underscored what steps lawmakers can take to build on this progress.
"Community banks are helping to spearhead our nation’s economic recovery. Bank and credit union...