Press Releases

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection hosted a field hearing in Wilmington, DE to discuss proposed regulations for prepaid cards – including how overdraft fees and other credit features should be handled on these prepaid products. Maura Dundon of the Center for Responsible Lending offered the following remarks: The CFPB's proposed rule on prepaid cards, announced at a Wilmington field hearing last week, suggests a number of critical protections that will better protect consumers who use these products. Importantly, the proposed rule would require CARD Act protections – enhanced

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Citing biblical prohibitions against unjust lending, the National Association of Evangelicals, the National Baptist Convention USA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and clergy from over 20 states will join together at Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C. to call for strong federal regulation against predatory payday lending. The assembly will mark the end of a three-day visit to the nation's capital, during which the faith and community leaders will meet with members of Congress to urge policymakers to take

On Veterans Day, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth will send a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, urging him to extend consumer protections for active duty service men and women. Ken Edwards, vice president of federal affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending, comments on Rep. Duckworth's push to protect service members: All Americans agree that taking advantage of service men and women violates our nation's fundamental values. This is why Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth – the decorated US Army and Iraq War veteran – calls on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to extend consumer

As the nation marks Veterans Day tomorrow, leaders from Center for Responsible Lending and the California Reinvestment Coalition are urging California state legislators and the state's members of Congress to follow the lead of the Department of Defense and honor veterans by passing legislation reining in abusive payday lending. The Department of Defense recently issued new proposed rules to update enforcement of the Military Lending Act. The proposed rules would enhance existing protections capping interest on loans to active duty members of the military at 36% annual interest. With more than

For more information, contact Andrew High at Andrew.High@responsiblelending.org or 919-313-8533.

In a letter sent today to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, a group of civil rights and economic justice organizations, including the Center for Responsible Lending, asked the Bureau to use its regulatory authority to curtail discretionary auto dealer interest rate markups. Court cases and enforcement actions over two decades have shown dealer markups result in racial discrimination. Borrowers of color see their loans marked up more often and by a greater percentage. Most consumers have no idea the practice exists and that car dealers are adding extra interest onto

Today, the US Department of Education released the final "gainful employment" rule imposing new limits on career education programs with poor outcomes for graduates. The final rule, which only considers the outcomes of the minority of students who graduate, is significantly weaker than the proposed rule. Nevertheless, it provides some important new protections. Maura Dundon, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, offered the following remarks: The Department of Education's final gainful employment rule aims to prevent programs with extremely poor outcomes from receiving

On September 22, 2014, financial regulators including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Housing Finance Agency and Housing and Urban Development, issued final rules to define a Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM). The new rules are meant to define the risk retention rules for lenders as called for in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Center for Responsible Lending Vice President of Federal Affairs Ken Edwards made the following remarks on

CRL California Director Paul Leonard and California Representative Maxine Waters. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) staff and consumer advocates based in Los Angeles gathered on October 10 to spotlight the threat posed by Predatory Payday Lending. A CRL analysis showing payday lenders rely on repeat borrowers to generate 76% of their revenue was released in advance of the meeting. The report contradicts the industry's public claim that its loans are only used as a one-time, quick fix by consumers facing a cash crunch. House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters, Los

A Center for Responsible Lending analysis of two new reports on the payday lending industry from the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) shows that payday lenders, who advertise their products as a one-time quick fix for consumers facing a cash crunch, generate 76% of their revenue from borrowers who take out 7 or more loans per year. The DBO's Annual report and Industry Survey come as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering new rules aimed at curtailing abuses in the payday lending industry. The Department of Defense also recently proposed new rules to