Federal Reserve’s Plan to Revamp the Community Reinvestment Act

CRA must help address systemic racial barriers and inequality, and it must benefit low-and-moderate-income (LMI) families and families of color WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week in a board meeting, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve approved its draft Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). In May, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized its CRA rule, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has yet to join an agency in finalizing a CRA rule. The CRA is a civil rights law designed to expand financial opportunity. The

CRL on the Passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Center for Responsible Lending President Mike Calhoun released the following statement on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Tonight, we pause to honor the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was a pioneer, a titan, a brilliant jurist, and one of the fiercest advocates for women’s rights and gender equality, civil liberties, and fair pay, among so many other issues. Even before her service on the United States Supreme Court, she shattered glass ceilings and led the fight in setting legal precedents that help women move toward full

Senators Warren, Schumer Urge President Trump to Provide Broad Federal Student Debt Cancellation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) unveiled a resolution urging President Donald Trump to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student debt through executive action. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington released the following statement: We applaud Senators Warren and Schumer for drafting a plan that would provide crucial student debt relief to at least 44 million borrowers who owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loans. The current public health and economic crisis caused by the

Civil Rights and Housing Groups Support a Broad Price-Based QM Definition to Ensure Access for Consumers of Color

“Qualified Mortgage” should be defined broadly to ensure that more borrowers are able to gain access to the safest mortgage products and the wealth-building opportunities of homeownership Lenders that engage in pricing discrimination should not receive the QM statutory safe harbor Washington, D.C. – With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) set to update a rule stemming from the Dodd-Frank financial reform law that governs what is considered a borrower-safe “Qualified Mortgage” (QM), leading civil rights and housing groups provided recommendations in their public comment letter on

Senate’s Narrow COVID Bill Is Inadequate, Doesn’t Fully Address Economic Fallout

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senators voted down the Senate Majority Leader’s narrow COVID-19 bill, which was introduced earlier this week. As written, the bill fails to provide substantive relief for renters, student loan borrowers, small business owners, unemployed workers, and other people who are still struggling during this pandemic. The bill did not receive bipartisan support. Center for Responsible Lending Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington released the following statement: This bill is an inadequate response to our current economic fallout and public health

The Trump Administration Guts Critical Anti-Discrimination Tool Used to Create Opportunity in Housing and Lending

The action leaves protected classes, including people of color, women, people of faith, people with disabilities, and families with children more vulnerable to housing discrimination In issuing the final rule, the Administration even ignored the mortgage industry’s largest lenders and realtors, which opposed the action Washington, D.C. – A primary legal tool used to identify and eliminate discrimination, known as the “disparate impact” standard, has been decimated by a new final rule issued late Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition to civil rights

Civil Rights Groups Strongly Oppose HUD’s New “Fair Housing” Rule and Call on the Agency to Reinstate the 2015 AFFH Regulation

The new Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice rule incorrectly redefines the meaning of fair housing and eliminates important tools for addressing systemic discrimination in housing, weakening the Fair Housing Act. Washington, D.C. – Today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s new Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice rule goes into effect, marking a major step backwards in the ongoing fight for fair housing. The new rule, which replaces the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation, guts the fundamental provisions of the Fair Housing Act’s

Consumer & Civil Rights Advocates to OCC: Your Proposed “True Lender” Rule Would Help Fraudulent, Predatory Lenders Evade State Interest Rate Laws that Protect Families 

The timing of the OCC’s embrace of predatory lenders could not be worse. We are in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis and a severe economic crisis, with both crises impacting communities of color more heavily than white communities.  WASHINGTON, D.C. - A proposal by the regulator of the nation’s largest banks would allow predatory lenders to do an end-run around state interest rate caps, exposing people to high-cost loans with minimal consumer protections, according to a comment letter submitted today to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) by 13 national consumer and

Higher Mortgage Costs and Reduced Credit Availability Would Result from FHFA Proposed Capital Rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Coalition Says

In public comment letter, civil rights, consumer, and housing groups warn of proposal’s harm and its “acute impact on low- to moderate-income families and families of color” Groups offer recommendations for the housing regulator to fulfill its and the Government-Sponsored Enterprises’ (GSEs) statutory public mission Washington, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) along with a broad coalition representing millions of Americans released its public comment letter critiquing the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) proposed capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Homeownership, COVID-19, and Increasing Access to Black and Latino Borrowers with Opening Remarks by FHFA Director Mark Calabria

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 2:00 p.m. ET/ 11:00 a.m. PT, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) will host a virtual panel of housing experts to discuss how the COVID crisis has impacted housing. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria will share the agency’s response to the current public health crisis, followed by a panel highlighting the need for housing opportunities for Black and Latino borrowers during these pressing times. Panelists will include leaders from CRL, MBA, NUL, and NAHREP. Questions for the panelists can be submitted through Twitter using