CRL President Testifies on GSE Reform in Senate Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for a hearing on “Chairman’s Housing Reform Outline: Part 2.” In his testimony, Calhoun discussed that any reform of the U.S. housing system must ensure access to safe and affordable mortgage loans for all creditworthy borrowers, including low-income borrowers and borrowers of color. Furthermore, any proposed legislation should provide equal treatment for small lenders, including community banks and credit unions that are often

DeVos Must Explain Education Budget Cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will testify before the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees, where she will need to explain her decision to drastically reduce funding for higher education programs, many that target low-income students, in the upcoming fiscal year. Today will be Secretary DeVos’ first time testifying before a Democratic-controlled House. On Thursday, she is scheduled to testify before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. The proposed Department of Education

Hassan, Durbin Introduce PROTECT Students Act to Improve Oversight of For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced the Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of (PROTECT) Students Act of 2019, a bill to protect higher education students by improving oversight and accountability of colleges and universities, particularly for-profit institutions. The bill would improve the 2014 Gainful Employment (GE) rule to ensure that graduates who attended for-profit institutions find good-paying jobs that will allow them to repay their federal student loans, and it would

President Trump’s New Executive Order Fails to Hold For-Profit Institutions Accountable

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Donald Trump signed an executive order addressing free speech, transparency and accountability on campus, a move that comes after conservative groups claimed their voices being silenced at colleges and universities throughout the country. Aside from ensuring that colleges receiving federal research or education grants promote free speech, the order directs the Education Department to publish program-level outcomes data to the College Scorecard, and submit a report that includes policy recommendations to the White House on student loan risk-sharing, the

Consumer, Civil Rights Advocates Warn CFPB About Harm of Delaying the Payday Rule in Official Comment Letter

If consumer bureau delays payday rule, it would “inflict profound financial and psychological harm on consumers, particularly communities of color and those on a fixed income” WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, several national consumer and civil rights groups released their official comment letter, linked here, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on its new leadership’s proposed delay of a 2017 rule the agency had issued to stop payday and car title loans from trapping consumers in debt. The letter rebuts the CFPB’s rationale for proposing a 15-month delay of the payday rule, which the

National Faith Leaders Join Florida Clergy and Faith Community for Pray-In Protesting Payday Lenders’ Conference at Trump National Doral Miami

"Do not rob the poor because they are poor;” participants quote verse as predatory lenders enjoy golf under the Miami sky MIAMI, Fla. – Faith leaders from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri, Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina joined Florida clergy and Miami faithful today at the gates of President Trump’s golf course resort, the Trump National Doral Miami, to bring attention to the harms predatory lending causes financially vulnerable families. Inside the gates, payday lenders were registering for their first day of the annual conference of their national trade association, the CFSA. The

New Report: Debt Buyers Go Largely Unchallenged in Lawsuits Against Washington State Consumers and Win Without Proving Debt

DURHAM, N.C. – Debt collection abuses rank first in the type of complaints filed by Washington State military servicemembers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and second for all consumers in the state. A new Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) report may help explain why. “ Debt by Default: Debt Collection Practices in Washington 2012-2016” found that over 80% of lawsuits filed by debt buyers against consumers are unchallenged in court, meaning the debt buyer wins by default. So people sued by debt buyers are frequently subject to a judgment or garnishment of their wages, without

In Hearings Before Congress, CFPB Director Kraninger Unable to Defend Plan to Gut Payday Rule

Representatives and Senators Repeatedly Grilled the Director on Proposal that would Keep Consumers Trapped in Debt WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in her second hearing before Congress, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger struggled in explaining why she issued a plan that would gut a rule designed to protect Americans from debt trap payday and car title loans. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Rebecca Borné issued the following statement: Director Kraninger continues to wear blinders, looking only at protecting the profits of exploitative

As Clock Starts for Comments on Gutting of CFPB Payday Rule, New Map Shows Triple-Digit Interest Rates Across America

View the map. Durham, N.C. – Today, Trump-Appointed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger’s plan to gut the payday rule was published in the Federal Register, which starts the clock for public comment on the proposal. To provide context for this action, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is releasing its two-page initial overview and analysis of the proposed repeal and a map showing the typical interest rate for payday loans in states that allow these debt trap products. Center for Responsible Lending Researcher Charla Rios issued the following statement

Kraninger Releases Plan to Gut CFPB Payday Lending Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under the direction of Trump-appointed Director Kathy Kraninger, released its plan to roll back the central protections of the agency’s 2017 payday and car-title lending rule. Kraninger’s plan is to eliminate the rule’s underwriting standards — the widely supported heart of the rule – which require lenders to verify a borrower’s ability to repay their loan. This proposed rollback would result in more Americans falling into devastating debt traps. The predatory, payday lending business model relies heavily on a borrower