CRL in the News

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule to curb overdraft fees incurred when consumers withdraw more than the available funds in their bank account — a move that might save customers about $3.5 billion a year overall. It would limit those fees to only what’s necessary to cover the institutions’ costs, which is somewhere between $3 and $14...

Anneliese Lederer, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, said it’s crucial for homeowners considering the UWM loan program to be educated about the terms and conditions. “Using fun lines like ‘no-down payment’ sounds exciting and great. But you need to read the fine print,” Lederer said. “This could be a fantastic product to allow people who can...

“The aspect of this program that makes me nervous is the silent second mortgage,” Anneliese Lederer, senior policy counsel at the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, told MarketWatch in an interview. “It’s great that there’s no interest on it, but it’s a balloon payment, and borrowers need to understand what a balloon payment is.”

Many of Buy Now, Pay Later’s repeat customers are financially vulnerable to begin with, says Nadine Chabrier with the Center for Responsible Lending. “Users tend to be younger. They tend to be Black, Latino, consumers of color,” she said. Chabrier said many have lower annual incomes and a high risk of becoming overextended.

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) said the ruling was a win for consumers. CRL is the policy arm of the Durham, N.C., nonprofit group operating two credit unions: Self-Help Credit Union ($1.8 billion in assets, 89,114 members as of March 31) and Self-Help Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion, 100,837 members). CRL lawyer Nadine Chabrier said the ruling "enables the...

The Center for Responsible Lending said the Supreme Court's reversal of the appeals court's decision will enable the federal watchdog agency to continue protecting “American’s wallets from predatory financial firms.” “The Supreme Court’s ruling provided a welcome dose of common sense as it rejected an unprecedented, reckless argument that could have destabilized a housing market that undergirds our economy and...

Nadine Chabrier, senior policy and litigation counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, said the decision allows the CFPB “to keep doing its job as a watchdog agency that protects Americans’ wallets from predatory financial firms.” “Even with this decision, we must keep fighting to defend our consumer watchdog agency in the courts and in Congress as some industry actors...

Nadine Chabrier, senior policy and litigation counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, also cheered the ruling as a "welcome dose of common sense."

Critics also say the costs of the loans are not always transparent. Many charge monthly subscription fees and most charge mandatory fees for instant transfers of funds, though there is typically a no-cost option to receive funds in one to three business days. The average APR for a loan repaid in seven to 14 days was 367%, a rate comparable...

Some lenders have used concerning tactics in Colorado, and it’s just not right. A 2022 report by the Center for Responsible Lending found several instances of Colorado consumers purchasing multiple insurance policies when borrowing. In one egregious example, Lendmark, a consumer lending company, added $5,000 of insurance premiums to a $10,000 loan. Had the lender included the cost of those...