Press Releases

Unprecedented bids could create the first national banks dedicated to predatory lending WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 60 consumer, civil rights, labor, small business, legal services and community groups, and academics yesterday urged the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to hold public hearings and take a vote of the governors on the bids of two Chicago-based, high-cost lenders, Enova International...

With auto loan debt at a historic high, report calls for Trump Administration, states to tackle predatory practices DURHAM, N.C. — With auto loan delinquencies and defaults as well as vehicle repossessions at the highest levels since the Great Recession, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) today released a new report, “ ‘We Woke Up to Them Taking Our Car’...

WASHINGTON, DC — It was announced this morning that former Congressman Barney Frank, co-author of the eponymous Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, has died. “Our heart goes out to Congressman Frank’s husband, family, and friends for their loss,” said Mike Calhoun, president at the Center for Responsible Lending. “In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the...

Julian Bond Institute's “Ambition Without Access” survey finds the racial wealth gap is not a motivation problem — it is a structural access problem WASHINGTON, DC — Amid historic affordability challenges in the U.S., a new study released today by the Julian Bond Institute for Financial Equity Research (JBI) debunks preconceived notions that younger, more diverse generations lack motivation to...

Groups Urge Lawmakers to Reject Enova and OppFi’s National Bank Applications and to Support State and Federal Interest Rate Limits WASHINGTON – Today, over 100 consumer, civil rights, and community organizations sent a letter urging members of Congress to stop predatory bank loans by opposing the unprecedented national bank applications of Enova and OppFi. The letter also urged members to...

Washington, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final 1071 small business lending data rule yesterday, which severely weakens key requirements to collect demographic information from borrowers. Graciela Aponte-Diaz, vice president of community engagement at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), made the following statement: Less data results in less transparency and less understanding of the small business...

Harms of Opp-Fi Bank’s High-Cost Loans Recently Were Highlighted in CRL Report Washington, DC – Federal banking regulators must not allow predatory lenders to acquire a national bank charter and expand their ability to offer high-cost loans that cause long-term financial distress for working people struggling to manage today’s affordability challenges, said the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Opportunity Financial...

Governor Moore to sign bill into law, restoring some protections and banning “tips” Annapolis, Md. — Maryland Governor Wes Moore this morning will sign legislation (SB 94) that re-establishes some of the vital consumer protections that were lost last year when the legislature passed a bill (HB 1294) that exempted app-based payday lenders from the state’s small dollar lending law...

Civil Rights and Consumer Groups Warn Approval of Merger Would Harm Communities of Color Washington, DC — In a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Powell, advocates raised the alarm regarding predatory lending practices targeting communities of color. The Center for Responsible Lending, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Legal Defense Fund, NAACP, and National Consumer Law Center urged the...

Washington, DC - The Department of Justice this week announced it indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on fraud and money laundering charges for its work to expose neo-Nazi and extremist hate groups. In response, Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) issued the following statement: The indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center for its...