Press Releases

Thousands of troubled California homeowners, like Kathryn Winogura of Lafayette and Zachary Norris of Oakland should have their fingers crossed for foreclosure legislation being considered in Sacramento next week. SB 1275, the bill sponsored by Sens. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), would level the loan modification playing field and hold servicers accountable for their errors. The bill is up for consideration in the Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance (SBFI) Committee sometime next week, most likely Wednesday The bill has two major provisions: Prohibiting

The economic crisis in our country has been deep and its impact devastating. Today, the U.S. Senate responded boldly by passing the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S.3217), which protects families and small businesses from unfair financial practices and guards against regulatory lapses like those that led to the largest taxpayer–funded bailout in U.S. history. Before the President can sign final legislation into law, the Senate must now reconcile its bill with similar legislation the House passed in December. We look forward to working with members of both chambers as they

Washington, D.C. --- As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on financial reform, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today that serious mortgage delinquencies—those at least 90 days past due or in foreclosure—remained at record levels during the first quarter. These latest statistics show that one in 10 borrowers is seriously delinquent on their mortgage, up from one in 14 borrowers a year ago and one in 25 two years ago. "It is jolting to see the persistence of the foreclosure epidemic," said CRL president Mike Calhoun. "As Congress moves forward on financial reform, it's important to

Over the past year, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has hosted numerous conversations with faith communities as part of its "Faith and Credit" program. In a letter delivered to Senators today, sixteen Christian leaders with decades of experience providing housing services and financial counseling urged legislators to enact reforms that protect against abusive lending practices targeting low-income households. "From the lens of our faith traditions, we recognize abusive lending as a breach of prohibitions against lending that exploits the poor," the letter states, citing practices such

Credit card borrowers who pay more than the minimum payment each month can reap big savings under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, a Center for Responsible Lending analysis finds. (For the full analysis, http://www.responsiblelending.org /research-publication/capitalizing-new-consumer.) Under the new law, known as the Credit CARD Act, borrowers can pay down existing credit card debt sooner by paying less interest than under the old rules, all the while improving their credit score. The CRL analysis estimates that for each dollar above the minimum that

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is proud of its work to halt predatory lending and help Americans build and protect their financial wealth and security. For seven years we have worked successfully to ensure that mortgage loans are fair and affordable, reduce unfair credit card fees and tricks, rein in 400% interest payday loans, and eliminate abusive debit card fees. These changes save American families billions of dollars each year. However, lending abuses still persist, and have led us to today's economic crisis. Now more than ever, we need stronger consumer protections and a fair

The Center for Responsible Lending commends the U.S. Treasury Department for making "Hardest Hit Funds" available to housing finance agencies in five additional states: Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon, and Rhode Island. This follows a similar action in February to provide funding to California, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada. This second round of state funding comes on the heels of the Administration's release of new tools to encourage more effective foreclosure prevention and unemployment assistance through the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). While

"We welcome the Administration's stronger actions to stabilize the housing market, particularly doing more to lower loan balances on homes worth less than the mortgage. Foreclosures dragged us into the recession, and until we stop them, the economy will not recover and most homeowners will watch their hard-earned home equity drain away. Since 2007, we have had 6.6 million foreclosures filed across the nation, and by 2012 that number may climb as high as 13 million. The result is lower home values for everyone. That means most families have less equity to help pay for things like college

"Bank of America's (BofA) new program to reduce loan balances for a defined group of distressed homeowners highlights our nation's very serious foreclosure situation. Today, nearly 1 in 4 homeowners is struggling to stay in a home that's worth less than their mortgage. BofA's initiative responds to a widelyacknowledged reality: reducing a loan's principal balance is a crucial tool for stopping foreclosures and stabilizing the housing market. We urge BofA to implement their principal reduction program quickly and comprehensively. This initiative is a very positive step, but more is needed to

"Yesterday's vote by the Senate Banking Committee to move forward with financial reform sends an important message that Congress must change the rules so that consumers are protected from unfair practices, our economy is protected from the damage of bad lending, and taxpayers won't have to pay for another Wall Street bailout. We are encouraged by the bipartisan collaboration between Chairman Dodd and Ranking member Shelby, and the Committee's efforts to hold Wall Street accountable in spite of an allout assault by industry lobbyists to block needed financial reforms. We support the Senators'