CRL in the News

In the coming weeks, Nevada lawmakers will see thousands of bright-yellow postcards dropped into their mailboxes. The postcards, sent by members of the inter-faith group Nevadans for the Common Good, will include handwritten notes and requests for legislators to support more funding for K-12 education, affordable housing tax credits and additional restrictions on payday lending. It’s part of a renewed...

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's attorney general wants to better protect people who take out student loans. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum publicly backed an initiative Monday to regulate student loan servicers like Navient and Nelnet. It would force servicers to become licensed under the state and educate students on the borrowing process. Student loan companies have been criticized for misleading...

The payday lending lobby has largely stayed under the radar in previous election cycles as other hot-button issues like Wall Street regulation and tax policy took up voters’ attention. But with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), both advocates of consumer protections, officially running for president, the industry is gearing up for its first big political fight in...

Millions of Americans have used payday loans. These are small, short-term loans known for charging staggering interest rates — sometimes in the 300 to 400% range. While the loans can provide quick financial relief to people who need it, the loans can quickly spiral and send borrowers into a cycle of debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is responsible for...

You’re hopelessly in credit card debt and considering bankruptcy. Wait — you don’t have to pay it all back, a television announcer claims. There’s “a secret that the credit card companies don’t want you to know.” This “secret” will wipe out card debts for a fraction of what you owe, promises the ad, which is for CreditAssociates, a credit card...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should not reverse a common-sense rule that protects payday lending borrowers. This month, the bureau proposed rolling back a 2017 rule that prohibits loans to borrowers who cannot demonstrate an ability to pay them back. That essentially prevents payday lenders from intentionally making short-term loans to weak borrowers then repeatedly flipping the debt to amass...

Mary Schmidt, a lifelong resident of the St. Louis region, had a good job with a school district. In an attempt to cover a financial shortfall, she took out a payday loan of a few hundred dollars. Unable to afford to repay the loan principal and fee, she repeatedly reborrowed — more than a dozen loans in total. Each time...

In recent months, many economists and lawmakers have frequently touted how the nation’s economy is performing really well. Often citing historically low unemployment rates, I’ve always felt that such pronouncements failed to consider the untold millions of Americans who are eking out a living on low or no raises, or others who work multiple jobs trying to piece together a...

Rhythm & News interview with Charlene Crowell, with the Center for Responsible Lending, about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s pending reversal of their payday lending policy. Interview by Chris B. Bennett.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — One of Shekinah Mitchell's favorite memories in Richmond is walking out of her favorite corner store 10 years ago and serendipitously meeting the man who would become her husband. Today, that corner store no longer exists. Mitchell's story is part of a larger pattern that policy experts said is becoming increasingly common in Richmond and around...