Press Releases

Banks regulators should ban these 365 percent APR products especially for seniors on fixed government income Payday loans made by banks carry sky-high interest rates—an average 365 percent APR—and, though marketed as short-term debt, regularly lead borrowers into long-term debt, new CRL research shows.* For the full report, http://rspnsb.li/nkyx95. The new report, Big Bank Payday Loans, shows that, on average...

An overwhelming majority of Americans—Republican, Democratic, and Independent—favor strong, sensible oversight of the financial services industry, including a strong and independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new poll finds. (Read CRL's analysis.) By a 3 to 1 margin Americans want financial firms held accountable and financial reforms to take effect as soon as possible. And they want the CFPB—created by...

When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially opens its doors this Thursday, Americans will finally have a watchdog to ensure that financial products provide value—not landmines—to consumers. But opponents of financial reform are trying to hamstring the CFPB to make it ineffective; one example is the threat by 44 Senators to block nomination of any CFPB Director unless the Bureau...

Mortgages servicers should be required to give every mortgage holder "a good-faith review of foreclosure alternatives " before taking steps to take his or her home, CRL president Michael Calhoun told Congress today.&p> In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee 's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, he recommended that servicers be...

CRL, the National Consumer Law Center and other groups yesterday filed a joint comment letter on why a new proposal by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency makes no sense, will not stand up in court, and should be withdrawn. [ Read the letter.] Specifically, the OCC has proposed that nationally chartered banks can continue to ignore state...

Statement by CRL President Mike Calhoun "The House Appropriations Committee yesterday voted for a return to policies that allowed predatory financial products to plunder our economy. Clearly some lawmakers have forgotten the lesson of today's financial crisis, which continues at great cost to taxpayers, shareholders, retirees and, of course, tens of millions of families who have needlessly lost their homes...

A diverse coalition of 44 consumer organizations, civil rights groups, lenders, real estate professionals and insurers joined with Members of Congress today urging regulators to make important changes to proposed mortgage lending regulations. The Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy released a joint white paper detailing how the proposed risk retention regulation, and the failure to properly define exemptions for Qualified...

New guidelines proposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) illuminate the abuses in banks' overdraft and payday lending practices but don't go far enough to bring lenders back in line. As a result, the OCC's proposal risks legitimizing national banks' abusive payday lending and overdraft fee practices. The "safety and soundness" that the OCC holds as...

Newly available data show CRL's initial research findings from earlier this year remain true: Since the Credit CARD Act of 2009 was passed, prices have become more transparent, with no constriction of credit and no increase in the interest rates consumers pay. See the update and original report: http://qa.crl.w.lmdagency.net/research-publication/credit-card-clarity. The updated information also provides fresh evidence that, prior to the...

A North Carolina bill that would significantly increase the interest rates of loans made by consumer finance companies like CitiFinancial and American General narrowly passed the House of Representatives yesterday evening by a vote of 61-54. The vote on House Bill 810 came despite a broad coalition opposing the effort to raise interest rates on consumer loans that included North...