Press Releases
February 3, 2017
Today, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released statements following the suggestion of the National Economic Council Director that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Director Richard Cordray would be replaced.
These developments threaten to leave consumers prone to the types of abusive financial practices that were rampant in the run-up to the Great Recession. Director Cordray was confirmed to a five-year term with the bipartisan support of 66 Senators in 2013. His term ends in July 2018.
AFR and the CRL made the following...
January 31, 2017
Today, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill to severely weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by dismantling the structure of its leadership. The bill, Consumer Financial Protection Board Act, would turn the CFPB’s leadership into a five member commission where it would be vulnerable to partisan gridlock and halt the progress of making consumer protection a top priority.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Policy Counsel Yana Miles released the following statement:
This bill...
January 26, 2017
National Consumer Advocacy Groups File Motion to Intervene with DC Circuit and Maintain CFPB's Constitutional Authority to Protect Americans from Wall Street Greed
Today in a joint effort, advocate groups including Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), Self-Help Credit Union (SHCU), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), and Maeve Elise Brown, the Executive Director of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates and Chair of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board...
January 17, 2017
Innovation Should Not Come at the Expense of Consumer Protection
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the NAACP have sent a letter to Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry urging him not to offer national charters to financial technology firms, which could severely undermine state oversight and state laws that protect consumers and small business owners from abusive financial products and practices.
"We understand that the OCC seeks to expand financial inclusion and lead innovation through issuing non-bank...
January 13, 2017
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) lauded congressional leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate for calling on President-elect Donald Trump to reject attempts to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by removing CFPB Director Richard Cordray.
Democrats from the House Financial Services Committee, led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, underscored to the president-...
January 13, 2017
Advocates underscore real threat to state law protections against predatory lenders
"The OCC's charter proposal enables companies to avoid state licensing regimes and oversight by state regulators and attorneys general."
More than 250 groups sent a letter today to Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry urging him not to grant national charters to financial technology firms, which could preempt state oversight and state consumer protection laws that protect consumers and small businesses from abusive financial practices. The letter by state advocates, affordable housing...
December 2, 2016
Innovation Should Not Come at the Expense of Consumer Protection, Evade State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws
Today, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its intention to offer national charters to financial technology firms, which could severely undermine state oversight and state consumer protection laws that protect consumers and small business owners from abusive financial products and practices. The OCC is accepting comments on its framework until January 15, 2017.
Before the OCC’s announcement, 49 organizations sent a letter to the Comptroller expressing "...
December 1, 2016
Brown, Sherman Bill Would Prevent Wells Fargo from Using Forced Arbitration Clauses in Real Accounts to Block Customers from Suing over Fraudulent Ones
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) today applauded the introduction of the Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2016, a bill to give Wells Fargo customers who were victims of a fraudulent account opening scheme their day in court. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and U.S. Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), a member of the...
November 29, 2016
United Effort to Maintain a Strong, Independent Consumer Protection Agency
Today, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), and other civil rights and consumer advocacy organizations, as well as 21 members of Congress submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of PHH Corporation v. CFPB, in support of the CFPB.
The groups and members of Congress urged the full court to grant the CFPB's petition for a rehearing of a 2-1 panel decision last month, which they believe incorrectly ruled that the...
November 18, 2016
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a petition for rehearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit urging the court to revisit a three judge panel's 2-1 decision made last month on CFPB's enforcement order in PHH Corporation vs. CFPB. In its decision, the panel ruled that the President must be able to remove the CFPB Director without cause.
Civil rights groups underscored the need for the CFPB to preserve its independence as a strong regulatory agency, as Congress intended, and support the Bureau's efforts to have the decision...