Press Releases
February 22, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced that for new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, the mortgage insurance premium will be reduced by 0.3 percentage point, which translates to around $800 a year in savings for families with the average-sized FHA-insured mortgage of around $270,000.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is providing needed breathing room in the tight budgets of families who use FHA mortgages, many of whom are first-time homebuyers, people of color, or individuals with lower-...
February 15, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As soon as Friday, the Supreme Court could announce it will grant a writ of certiorari to review Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a lawsuit brought by the trade association for payday lenders that poses an existential threat to funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and, by extension, similarly funded agencies. The CFPB was established as a response to the 2008 Financial Crisis and the abuses it exposed.
“Prior to the creation of the Consumer Bureau, there were no meaningful checks...
February 7, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In tonight’s State of the Union speech, President Biden is spotlighting his Administration’s crackdown on unfair and costly junk fees generally and he is specifically highlighting the effort to curb overdraft fees. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has long called for reining in these charges.
“Overdraft fees are junk fees. Despite recent progress in addressing overdraft fees, the job is far from complete. These charges wreak havoc on household budgets,” said CRL Senior Policy Counsel Nadine Chabrier. “We applaud President Biden for highlighting their harm. The...
February 6, 2023
Consumer Advocates Urged FDIC to Downgrade the Bank’s CRA Rating Over its Triple-Digit Interest Rate Rent-a-Bank Loans, Deceptive Marketing
WASHINGTON – Late last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) made public that it has downgraded the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance rating of Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB Bank) to “needs to improve,” a low rating that few banks get. The FDIC found that the Utah-based bank committed unfair or deceptive acts or practices that “impacted a large number of consumers over an extended period of time."
Consumer...
January 20, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) yesterday proposed a rule to implement the 1968 Fair Housing Act requirement that federal government funding be used to “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.”
“For decades, federal housing policies mandated racial segregation and encouraged market-wide discrimination against people of color. Those actions were intentional and their consequences are still felt today,” said Mitria Spotser, federal policy director and vice president at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). “In issuing this proposal, HUD...
December 21, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Nadine Chabrier issued the following statement:
“Holiday shopping is ramping up and shoppers are increasingly using new, underregulated credit products like ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ and ‘Earned Wage Access.’ Retailers are also facilitating predatory point-of-sale loans for purchases including for puppies and jewelry. Policymakers should use this moment to recommit to strengthening consumer protections. Holiday dreams should not turn into debt nightmares.”
For decades, payday lenders have exploited low-income...
December 20, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today ordered Wells Fargo Bank to pay a $3.7 billion settlement over customer abuses tied to its mortgage and automobile lending practices, and surprise overdraft fees and other incorrect charges to customer bank accounts. The bank’s actions led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes.
Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement:
Wells Fargo is a repeat offender for...
December 16, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Banking Committee this week approved the nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be the permanent head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), along with approving two other FDIC nominees.
Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement:
Martin Gruenberg is a well-qualified, experienced financial regulator with a strong track record of protecting depositors, taxpayers, and consumers. We urge the full Senate to swiftly confirm Mr. Gruenberg, along with vice chair nominee Travis Hill and board of...
December 15, 2022
Lenders squeeze borrowers with large balances, long terms, expensive and unnecessary add-on products
DURHAM, NC – Large, personal loans demand scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers in Colorado and elsewhere to ensure practices that harm consumers are stopped, concludes an analysis released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).
Analysis of loan agreements, industry reports and company websites show disturbing and costly practices by two large consumer finance companies, OneMain and Lendmark. The lenders are operating in Colorado under the Consumer Credit Code, which allows...
December 14, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today at 3 pm et, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs will hold a legislative hearing on a discussion draft bill, the VA Housing Loan Forever Act of 2022. Click here for live video and all hearing documents. Click here for written testimony from Mitria Spotser, a consultant for the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).
In her testimony, Mitria Spotser states, “[E]nabling the transfer of VA home loan benefits would make homeownership more easily obtainable for many of the families of servicemembers that were denied the ability to utilize the program during their lives...