Press Releases

New CFPB rule would restore Americans’ right to take banks to court WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in oral arguments before a federal appeals court, Wells Fargo will try to again stop consumers in 49 states from banding together in a lawsuit that challenges overdraft fee practices, which a California court concluded were “unfair and fraudulent.” Wells Fargo will try to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A recent resolution reached between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and American Express will cure the harms previously caused to consumers residing in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories. Under the agreement, American Express agreed to compensate consumers who were harmed by unequal and inferior credit card terms that occurred in these...

Gainful Employment Rule Should Focus on Students, Not Institutions WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would loosen regulatory standards affecting for-profit colleges and other career education programs. Failing institutions will now have until February 2018 to submit alternate earnings appeals and until October 2017 to submit an intent to appeal. Further, in submitting appeals...

ATLANTA, GA. – Tomorrow, at this year’s Netroots Nation 2017 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) will host a panel entitled, Fintech: How Can Innovation Advance Civil Rights?, to discuss ways the financial technology (fintech) sector can help build a fair and inclusive financial marketplace for consumers, especially low-wealth families and communities of color. The panel...

Civil rights groups call for reform after CFPB data show financially vulnerable consumers still hammered by checking account overdraft fees WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a study exposing the extent to which large banks' abusive overdraft fees drain working families' checking accounts of needed funds. The study finds that nearly 80% of bank overdraft...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently announced a decision to drop a plan that would have created a single student loan servicer for the nation. The reversal followed a related call by a group of bipartisan Senators to keep the Department’s current use of multiple loan servicers. Whitney Barkley-Denney, a senior policy counsel with the...

New Poll Shows that Congress Going Against Wishes of Constituents in Voting to Repeal a CFPB Rule that would Restore the Right of Americans to Take Financial Firms to Court WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on H.J. Res. 111, a bill that would rescind a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that curtails...

Senators and Representatives Announce Legislation to Repeal Consumer Bureau Rule that Restores Americans' Ability to Challenge Illegal Lending Actions in Court WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) announced legislation that would rescind a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule, which restores the ability of consumers...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tuesday, July 18, at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) hosted a press teleconference on a national poll highlighting the country’s view of Wall Street and current financial regulation issues such as arbitration and payday lending six months into the Trump Administration. (Cong. Maxine Waters was...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Voters overwhelmingly favor regulation of Wall Street and strongly support the work of the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to a poll released today by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The poll, conducted by the bipartisan partners Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting last month...