Press Releases

Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new report that proves how high-cost fees on small-dollar loan create rather than resolve financial challenges for borrowers. An 18-month analysis of loans made by more than 330 payday lenders found that half of all borrowers—nearly 10,000—were charged an average of $185 in bank penalties, hidden costs usually in the form of overdraft or nonsufficient fund fees – or both. Repeated attempts by lenders to collect failed 70 percent of the time, but racked up substantial additional fees nonetheless. Involuntary bank account closures

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today a new loan modification program that will help borrowers stay in their homes. Under the new program, loan modifications will be available to as many as 30,000 qualified underwater borrowers facing financial hardship with loans now held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Eligibility also requires that the mortgages have an unpaid principal balance of not more than $250,000 and delinquency of 90 days or longer as of March 1 of this year. Homes must be owner-occupied. Additionally, FHFA will require third party buyers of Fannie and Freddie’s

Center for Responsible Lending, and Groups Nationwide Tell CFPB: Beware Same Old Predators in Different Clothing The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to rein in the worst abuses of traditional, two-week payday lending schemes must not leave the door open to longer-term loan products that are similarly predatory debt-traps by design, nearly 150 consumer advocacy and civil rights groups representing thousands of Americans in more than 45 states told Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray in a hand-delivered letter. At issue is a new rule the CFPB is expected

Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs convened a hearing to assess the effects of Consumer Finance Regulation. Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) offered comments for the committee's record and issued the following statement. In a display of legislative wisdom, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with its enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The two were necessary remedies to heal the financial wounds wrought by 8.2 million families who lost their homes to

Study confirms urgent need to curtail debt-collection abuses Washington, DC – New research from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) shows that strong debt-collection reforms do not restrict credit availability. Despite claims from the debt-collection industry, CRL analysis of data from North Carolina and Maryland – two states with recent debt-collection reforms – establishes that there was no sign of any negative impact to consumer credit. Unfair debt-collection practices undermine financial security, especially in low-income communities and households of color, hindering opportunities to

Latinos, Blacks and Seniors Targeted for High-Cost Loans Floridians have paid more than $2.5 billion in fees on high-cost payday loans over the last decade, according to new research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Further, in the most recent reported one-year period, June 2014 through May 2015, over $311 million in fees was paid on loans averaging nearly $400. These and other findings from a report entitled, Perfect Storm: Payday Lenders Harm Consumers Despite State Law refute recent claims that an existing state law has protected consumers in the Sunshine State and should be

The House Financial Services Committee continues its assault on regulators that fulfill their responsibilities to address predatory, high-risk financial practices. Today the Committee attacked the FDIC for curbing banks' involvement in tax refund anticipation loans. These products carry interest rates as high as 500% APR, posing clear consumer protection concerns as well as safety and soundness risks to the handful of banks involved in them. Mike Calhoun, CRL's President, issued the following statement: Tax refund anticipation loans preyed on low-income consumers by charging extraordinarily

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued new rules to update the certification process for loans backed by the agency. All lenders making FHA-backed loans must certify that each loan has complied with the appropriate rules that serve to protect both consumers and taxpayers. Lenders who violate the rules could face the liability of having to forfeit FHA insurance and buy back any loans they sold under false representations and pay triple damages. Lenders must also get certified to be eligible to offer FHA backed loans. Rules finalized today are for the individual loan

Missouri Attorney General should move to prohibit suing, collecting, or attempting to collect zombie debts. Jefferson City, MO – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) submitted to the Missouri Attorney General, comments to strengthen proposed reforms aimed to curb predatory debt-collection practices. In its comment, CRL submitted background on debt-collection abuses and provided recommendations to prevent the unfair collection of zombie debts, additional unfair collection activities, and unfair accrual of interest above the usury limit. Unfair debt-collection practices undermine financial

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seventeen consumer and civil rights advocacy groups sent a letter today to investor and auto dealer, Warren Buffett, urging him to help end discriminatory auto lending practices in this country. In 2014, Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway purchased the largest privately-held auto dealership group in the nation, the Van Tuyl Group. The civil rights and consumer groups, which include several of the nation's oldest, largest, and most widely-known civil rights organizations, called Mr. Buffett's attention to the widely documented problem of "racially motivated and discriminatory