CRL Expresses Appreciation for Work of Retiring HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge

Washington, DC -- Marcia Fudge has announced that she will step down next Friday as the 18 th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, where she was a champion of policies to promote safe, equitable and affordable housing. Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending, made the following statement: During her tenure at HUD, Marcia Fudge fought to ensure that FHA mortgages remained a viable entry point to homeownership for first-time buyers, people of color and individuals with lower incomes. Her efforts reduced costs of mortgage insurance on FHA loans, and ensured that the

CRL Statement in Response to President Biden’s Proposal to Eliminate Junk Fees in Higher Education

Washington, D.C., — The Biden administration announced today a series of proposals to improve our nation’s higher education system. These initiatives include eliminating origination fees for federal student loans and eliminating other fees that would make college education more affordable. In response, Jaylon Herbin, director of federal campaigns at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), made the following statement: We applaud the administration’s commitment to eliminating unnecessary junk fees in higher education and contributing to a fairer, more equitable student loan repayment system

President Biden Targets Overdraft Fees in Crusade Against Junk Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In tonight’s State of the Union speech, President Biden is widely expected to note progress and call for additional action to address junk fees in general and high-cost overdraft fees in particular. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently proposed an overdraft rule that would apply to the nation’s largest banks and credit unions. The CFPB estimates the rule may save the 23 million households who pay overdraft fees in any given year $150 each year on average – while the hardest-hit households could save much more. “The CFPB’s proposal would provide families

CRL Applauds President Biden’s Call for Downpayment Assistance for First-Generation Homebuyers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the White House’s State of the Union push for policies to lower the cost of housing, President Biden today called for Congress to pass legislation to provide up to $25,000 in downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers whose parents don’t own homes. The legislation would help an estimated 400,000 families become homeowners. The proposal mirrors a policy recommended by the Center for Responsible Lending and the Downpayment Toward Equity Act, legislation that in 2021 passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of a broader legislative package. “Targeted

CRL Welcomes Laura Arce to Its Board of Directors

Washington, DC – Martin Eakes, chief executive officer of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), today announced that Laura Arce has joined the board of directors of the nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy advocacy organization that works to promote financial fairness and economic opportunity for all, end predatory lending, and close the racial wealth gap. Ms. Arce is senior vice president for Economic Initiatives at UnidosUS. She rejoined UnidosUS in 2022 to develop, launch, and lead the “Home Ownership Means Equity” (HOME) Initiative – a multi‐year institutional priority that seeks

SAVE Plan Could Create Pathway to Homeownership for Millions of Student Loan Borrowers, New Report Finds

Washington, D.C. — Enrolling in the Department of Education’s latest income-driven repayment plan, Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE), could revive the homeownership dreams of millions of low- and moderate-income student loan borrowers, according to a joint report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and California Policy Lab. The reduction of monthly debt payments due to SAVE can improve a borrower’s debt-to-income (DTI) ratio (total monthly debts divided by gross income). A lower DTI is a favorable factor for lenders when deciding whether to approve a mortgage loan

CFPB Proposes Rule to Protect Consumers from Unaffordable Overdraft Fees, Continuing Crackdown on Junk Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a proposed rule to require the nation’s largest banks and credit unions to comply with consumer credit protections for their overdraft programs. “The CFPB’s proposal would rein in a junk fee that has gouged financially vulnerable families for far too long,” said Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). “High-cost overdraft fees exploit consumers right when they are out of funds. In moving to protect consumers from this harm, the CFPB is carrying out its mission." Calhoun added, “We

Senate Fails to Override Presidential Veto, Dodd-Frank Provision Promoting Transparency in Small Business Lending Will Become Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today failed to override the presidential veto of S.J.Res. 32, a Republican-led Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) implementation of Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Sec. 1071 is a sunshine provision requiring large lenders to collect and report demographic data on small business loans. While Section 1071 was part of the Dodd-Frank Act passed more than a decade ago, the rule for this provision was only finalized last year. The CFPB’s final 1071 rule, which mirrors existing requirements for

New Senate Bill to Curb High-Cost Loans, Junk Fees by Capping Interest Rates

Bill to establish interest rate cap with wide bipartisan popularity among voters WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advocates at the Center for Responsible Lending, National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Federation of America, and Americans for Financial Reform applaud U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and more than a dozen Senate cosponsors for introducing the Predatory Lending Elimination Act, which extends to veterans and all consumers the 36% annual percentage rate cap found in the Military Lending Act and prevents the use of junk fees to hide high-cost loans. “We commend Senator Reed for introducing

Consumer and Financial Industry Groups Support New Bipartisan Senate Bill: Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) and additional bipartisan cosponsors, reintroduced the Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act , a bill to require that industrial loan companies (ILCs) abide by the same rules, supervision, and consumer protections as traditional banks. “We commend Chairman Brown and Senator Kennedy’s bipartisan effort to close the loophole allowing Industrial Loan Companies to evade oversight.  This bill advances the basic principle that