Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal district court judge in Texas ruled last Friday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may not monitor companies that provide checking accounts and other non-credit financial services to ensure they are not discriminating based on protected characteristics, such as a person’s race, religion, or sex. The CFPB had pointed to this discrimination as also constituting an unfair practice that it can identify, prohibit, and prosecute, which the law authorizes the CFPB to do. “Illegal discrimination fits the commonsense definition of an unfair practice. To

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 2 pm ET, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) will host a press call to preview one of the most important cases coming before the Supreme Court this term: CFPB v CFSA , a constitutional challenge to the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Sign up for the call. The Supreme Court’s decision on whether to overturn the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has implications not only for the last 12 years of consumer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced companion Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions yesterday to repeal the Saving on a Valuable Education, or “SAVE,” income-driven repayment (IDR) plan announced by the Biden administration earlier this year. The CRA is a tool Congress can use to overturn final rules from federal agencies. Under SAVE, payments are based on a borrower’s income and family size. Moreover, the amount of a borrower’s discretionary income that applies to repayment is cut in half, which lowers monthly payments. The

DURHAM, NC - Consumers who use Earned Wage Advance (EWA) and digital cash advance applications are taking them repeatedly, paying fees and so-called tips, and using the advances to cover basic living expenses, according to survey results released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The survey, which asked consumers about their experiences with EWA and cash advance apps, found that 69% of respondents use the advances to cover food, transportation and housing costs. Over 60% of customers of MoneyLion, EarnIn, Brigit and Dave – so-called fintech lenders – took advances one to two

OAKLAND, CA - Payday lending activity increased significantly in California from 2021 to 2022, according to an annual report released by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) last month. The report tracks the activity of 109 lenders who voluntarily reported their lending. The number of payday loans surged by over 18.4 percent and the dollar value by over 19.2 percent to $1.5 billion. Payday lenders issued this exploitative credit to more than 900,000 individual consumers, an increase of around 14 percent; all these levels had dropped in the state during the

Washington, D.C. – A federal appeals court on Monday blocked the Biden administration’s new borrower defense to repayment rules aimed at protecting student loan borrowers who attended for-profit institutions and were defrauded by their school. In response, Jaylon Herbin, director of federal campaigns at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) , made the following statement: The decision by the appeals court to block Biden's new student debt relief policy for defrauded borrowers is disappointing. For far too long, for-profit schools have exploited the system and deceived borrowers, leaving

Washington, D.C. – The Supreme Court of the United States ruled today that President Biden did not have the legal authority to provide up to $20,000 in needed COVID-19 relief to millions of eligible borrowers. Relying upon the emergency authority created by the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act), the Biden administration sought to cancel federal student loan debt to address the financial harms of the pandemic. However, the plan was quickly blocked by a federal appeals court after it faced a series of legal challenges. Though the Court correctly rejected

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Self-Help Credit Union and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) congratulate advocates who worked to defeat a bill vetoed by Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday that would have increased interest rates on large personal loans made to Florida residents. Advocates from consumer groups, faith groups, legal services and others joined Self-Help and CRL in calling to reject the bill, which would have raised allowable interest rates on installment loans up to $25,000. Adelcio Lugo, Self-Help’s Florida president, made the following statement: This bill would have raised interest on

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3564, a bill that would reverse the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA’s) recent update to the pricing of home loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy. “The FHFA was deliberative and thoughtful in updating the pricing framework for conventional mortgages. The same cannot be said of the House of Representatives,” remarked Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Vice President and Federal Policy Director Mitria Spotser . “This legislation would make it more expensive for lower-wealth, credit-worthy borrowers to purchase a

DURHAM, NC – Payday and car title lenders continue to operate in states with weak consumer protections, extracting nearly $3 billion in fees each year from low-wealth communities, according to a report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). “ The Debt Trap Drives the Fee Drain: Payday and Car-Title Lenders Drain Nearly $3 Billion in Fees Every Year ” breaks down by state the dollar amount of fees generated through these practices, finding that in total $2.2 billion are extracted through triple-digit interest single-payment and payday installment loans from borrowers with