Press Releases

More than 70 consumer and veterans groups are calling on Congress to enact an amendment by Sen. Jim Talent (R-Missouri) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida) to protect military families from payday lenders, who trap borrowers in a vicious cycle of debt at interest rates of more than 400 percent a year. This predatory business doesn't just ravage service members and their families. It means our military is less prepared. And it potentially dangerously distracts soldiers, sailors and aviators from their mission. Senators Talent and Nelson amended the Defense Authorization Bill (Senate Bill 2766) to

Martin Eakes, CEO of the Center for Community Self-Help, named Michael D. Calhoun president of the Center for Responsible Lending. Calhoun has lobbied and litigated for poor people and their issues, especially predatory lending, for more than 30 years. Calhoun, formerly general counsel, had been the center's lead lobbyist in Washington and state capitals for years. His acceptance of the post indicates that advancing CRL's issues in Congress and nationwide is becoming increasingly important to the organization, which also does research on predatory lending. Predatory lending occurs in subprime

TITLE SOURCE DATE Separate and Unequal Justice: The Case Against Binding Mandatory Arbitration for Homebuyers Center for Responsible Lending 02/24/05 -

Most people assume they can take their grievances to court if a lender violates the law. Unfortunately, many borrowers are denied that option through "binding mandatory arbitration" (BMA), a common clause in loan contracts. Barred from bringing claims to court, victims of abusive lending practices frequently find that their loan contracts require them to go through arbitration: proceedings conducted in secrecy, with limited evidence and documentation. All too often, borrowers pay excessive costs and receive unfair results. CRL has joined a coalition of leading consumer groups in a campaign to

African-Americans and Latinos, government figures show, get high-interest sub-prime mortgages far more often than whites. Now researchers at the Center for Responsible Lending find those disparities persist even when the borrowers have the same qualifications as whites. Lenders say they charge more because African-Americans and Latinos tend to have shakier credit histories, which makes lending to them riskier. But that explanation is simply wrong, the Center found in its groundbreaking new research. The most extensive study of its kind shows that even after controlling for differences such as

African-Americans and Latinos, government figures show, get high-interest sub-prime mortgages far more often than whites. Now researchers at the Center for Responsible Lending find those disparities persist even when the borrowers have the same qualifications as whites. Lenders say they charge more because African-Americans and Latinos tend to have shakier credit histories, which makes lending to them riskier. But that explanation is simply wrong, the Center found in its groundbreaking new research. The most extensive study of its kind shows that even after controlling for differences such as

Louisianans will need to keep an eye on their wallets and their cars if their state legislators pass a bill to let lenders charge 300 percent annual percentage rate when people put up their cars as collateral for a loan. What's more, the bills would make it all too easy for these lenders, who thrive on trapping people in debt, to grab borrowers' cars if they can't pay up. Car title lenders induce people to take out loans they cannot afford, so they are forced to roll over these loans again and again, racking up ever more interest and - in some cases - losing their cars. Groups representing

A nationwide survey shows that low-income people, single people, and many people of color are increasingly turning to borrowing money from financial institutions by over-drawing their checking accounts, racking up interest rates that can exceed 1,000 percent. A telephone survey of 3,310 households done for the Center for Responsible Lending shows that a mere 16 percent of bank customers account for nearly three-quarters of all overdraft loans. In other words, these people are effectively turning to overdraft loans (or "courtesy overdraft protection," as it's often called) as a line-of-credit

Local and national groups opposing housing discrimination urged the county council of Montgomery County, Md. to support a fair lending ordinance and not reverse its commitment to fair housing for everyone. Mortgage lenders sued the county for passing an ordinance prohibiting lenders from discriminating. Their lawyers persuaded a judge to delay the new law, supposed to take effect last week, pending a hearing. Discrimination is already illegal under federal and state laws, and already covers the lenders who are complaining about the Montgomery County ordinance. So it is difficult to see why

Yesterday, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced that the last three major out-of-state payday lenders had agreed to stop making illegal loans in North Carolina. As a result, working families in the state will save almost $100 million each year -- money they can use to buy food, pay their bills, and balance their family budget. Payday lenders make small loans and charge interest rates of as much as 400 percent, trapping families in a cycle of debt from which many never recover. The Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit, non-partisan research group based in Durham, NC, applauds the