Press Releases

Washington, D.C.—March 5, 2010— The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, which took effect February 22, 2010, requires new disclosures on monthly credit card statements. The Financial Services Roundtable and the Center for Responsible Lending have teamed up to explain a few of these new disclosures, which are intended to make the cost of credit clearer to American consumers. The Disclosures WILL: ? Show you how long it will take to pay off your entire balance if you pay only the minimum payment each month and make no additional purchases or advances.

A key federal regulator for years has let national banks engage in lending practices that the regulator itself admits harm consumers and lenders, according to two new reports from the Center for Responsible Lending. (For the full reports go to: http://qa.crl.w.lmdagency.net/research-publication/mainstream-banks-mak… and http://www.responsiblelending.org/research-publication/national-bank-re…) The reports focus on two of many areas in which the regulator—the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC—has fallen down on the job: payday lending

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today that serious mortgage delinquencies—those at least 90 days past due or in foreclosure—remained at record levels in the fourth quarter of 2009. These latest statistics show that one in 10 borrowers is seriously delinquent on their mortgage, up from one in 16 borrowers a year ago and one in 33 two years ago. The Treasury Department this week issued figures showing that under the Home Affordable Modification Program the number of permanent loan modifications has increased to 116,000 total. Every additional homeowner who is saved from

Last night the President highlighted the need for jobs and health care reform for middle-class families, but Americans also need relief in the housing market and financial reform. First, we need stronger measures to stop preventable foreclosures. The financial crisis started in the housing market, and foreclosures continue to drag down the entire economy. Banks should be required to take reasonable steps to help families stay in their homes.Second, we urge the President and Congress to create a strong, independent watchdog over the big banks to make sure they don't cause another crisis and to

As the year ends with a spotlight on pending health and financial reforms in Congress, the Federal Reserve closed its comment period for mortgage rules that could save families billions of dollars. In a detailed comment letter, the Center for Responsible Lending recommends that the Federal Reserve Board strengthen a proposal to ban routine kickbacks for steering borrowers into unnecessarily risky or expensive home loans. If finalized as proposed, the ban on kickbacks (often called "yield-spread premiums") would apply to mortgage brokers, loan officers, and any party that originates mortgages

Statement from Michael Calhoun President of the Center for Responsible Lending Washington, D.C. – "We are very pleased the U.S. House of Representatives has taken an important step toward restoring our country's financial stability by voting to pass the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173). The bill would provide consumers with significant protections from the industry practices that dismantled our economy and those of countries around the world. We commend the House for this vote to protect families and small business from unfair, unsafe financial practices

Credit card companies are busy crafting new tricks and traps to bypass both Federal Reserve Board rules and new federal law set to take full effect in late February 2010, a new research report from the Center for Responsible Lending finds. Entitled "Dodging Reform: As Some Credit Card Abuses Are Outlawed, New Ones Proliferate," the report explains why the nation's 80 million families with one or more credit cards continue to be hit with arbitrary, unfair interest rate hikes and fees. [For the full report go here.] The study examined the practices of issuers that hold over 400 million credit

Statement of Michael Calhoun, PresidentCenter for Responsible Lending "The Obama administration's latest adjustments to its nine-month-old foreclosure prevention program do little but highlight the continued failure of lenders' voluntary efforts to stop the foreclosure crisis. The number of Americans in foreclosure continues to rise dramatically, with up to three million new foreclosure starts this year alone, a trend that undermines economic recovery. To address the foreclosure crisis that's at the root of the current slump will require more comprehensive action. Specifically, Congress must

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today that a record number of loans—1 in 7—is delinquent, up from 1 in 10 a year ago. Today's numbers also show that 1 in 22 families in the U.S. is in the process of losing their home, up from 1 in 34 a year ago. Based on these figures, we are now on track for 2.9 million foreclosure starts in this year alone. The lenders' trade association is quick to blame this worsening trend on higher unemployment levels. But that ignores the fact that reckless lending precipitated the economic crisis and prolongs it each day with every new foreclosure

"The Federal Reserve Board's action today on debit card overdraft fees legitimizes an abusive product without providing any substantive protections for bank customers. We appreciate that the Fed chose to implement the strongest overdraft reform rule it was considering, namely requiring banks and credit unions to ask new and existing customers before charging overdraft fees on debit card transactions. But this improvement is undermined by the Fed's failure to propose or enact necessary safeguards against a host of unfair practices. The Fed acknowledges in its new rule that the fees charged for