Press Releases
May 11, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal a new consumer protection rule on prepaid cards is not set to advance in the Senate ahead of a deadline, nixing the measure’s chances of getting a vote by the full chamber. The prepaid card rule was finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last October. The rule includes many commonsense protections for prepaid users, such as standard fraud and disclosure provisions of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. These protections apply to error resolutions, lost cards, and unauthorized transactions,...
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 24, 2017
WASHINGTON, DC – House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) recently released text of the so-called Financial CHOICE Act 2.0, his plan to repeal and replace the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The Chairman’s legislation would prevent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from regulating payday and car-title lenders. This is a new provision that was not in last year’s version of the bill. The Financial CHOICE Act 2.0 is scheduled to have a hearing on this Wednesday, April 26th.
Section 733 of the CHOICE Act 2.0 discussion draft:
(t) NO AUTHORITY TO...
April 20, 2017
A new report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) shows that students at Maine’s for-profit colleges carry higher levels of debt, borrow in higher percentages, and have worse repayment rates on that debt compared to their peers at public and private non-profit institutions. These debt burdens fall especially heavily on African-Americans, women, and low-income students, who are disproportionately enrolled in for-profit colleges in the state.
CRL analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education and found the following:
The for-profit sector enrolls 6% of all...
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 4, 2017
Consumer Advocates Question FinTech Company’s High Default Rates, Triple Digit Interest Rates
Consumer advocates criticized the high interest rates and high default rates of Elevate Credit, Inc. (Elevate), an online lender that is expected to soon have an initial public offering. In its recent filing with the SEC, Elevate cited several risks to potential investors, including “regulatory limitations on the products we can offer and markets we can serve.” The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is currently developing a rule on small dollar loans.
"Elevate charges its customers an...
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...
March 27, 2017
Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 28, at approximately 2 p.m. ET, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun will testify 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 will discuss recent trends in lending and how the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has made the financial industry more accountable to the public. View a list of all four of the hearing witnesses.
Washington, D.C. – Tuesday, March 28
Who: Mike Calhoun,...