CRL in the News

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - The attorneys general of New York and 23 other states plus Washington, D.C. have urged the Trump administration not to roll back a decade-old federal rule that limits the ability of banks to charge overdraft fees when customers spend more than they have in their accounts. In a letter to Kathy Kraninger, director of...

WASHINGTON– A coalition of consumer groups has sent a letter to the CFPB urging it not to weaken the Federal Reserve’s 2009 overdraft “opt-in” rule. “More broadly, comprehensive reform of unfair and abusive overdraft practices is badly needed. … Financial institutions combine a number of unfair and abusive practices in order to impose high, repeat overdraft fees on their customers,”...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just wrapped up a public comment period on a rule that extends some protections to consumers who overdraw their checking accounts. The CFPB must examine the rule under a federal law that requires agencies to review rules that might affect small businesses. Before the Federal Reserve Board set the 2009 overdraft rule, banks could automatically...

Signature gatherers are starting to fan out across Arizona in an effort to curb a type of high-interest lending in the state. Roughly 20 community groups on Tuesday kicked off a drive to qualify a measure that would curtail auto-title loans that feature high interest rates and, critics say, trap borrowers in a debt cycle.

Overdraft services are essential for some credit union members, trade groups said, asking the CFPB not to take any additional action to restrict them.

Yesterday, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an opinion in which it concluded that the federal Higher Education Act (HEA) does not preempt state law claims against student loan servicers. The case involves a student loan borrower who brought a putative class action against the loan servicer alleging violations of the Illinois...

Kyra Bowerman was trapped in a vicious banking cycle. The Indianapolis teacher and single mom of two would open a bank account. An expensive day care bill would come due at the same time she needed to pay for rent, utilities and food. The bank would charge an overdraft fee. The account would close.

The student debt crisis is reaching a breaking point — and many grads are regretting their pricey degrees. A new study from the FINRA Foundation found that almost half of Americans with student loans wish they’d chosen a less expensive college, compared to only 9% among those who did not graduate with debt.

Often it’s the smallest charge that triggers the biggest fee. Overdraft fees, which is what banks charge when transactions including debit card purchases cause your account to drop below zero, average $35 — nearly twice the size of the average $20 debit card transaction, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Altogether, customers of larger banks paid more than $11...

LUDINGTON—Four years ago, Merenda Vincent was desperate for cash. She had an overdue car payment, along with a medical bill she couldn’t pay. Living on a monthly Social Security check of less than $1,000, she had no money in the bank. Vincent recalled that she walked into a payday lending store called Check ‘n Go outside Ludington, a small Lake...