Press Releases

NCUA votes for changes to Payday Alternative Loan program; while addressing some key concerns of community groups, overall the vote is a step in the wrong direction WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) voted to approve a final rule governing Payday Alternative Loans, referred to as PAL II. In response, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL)...

“Without significant changes, we believe the proposed rule will perpetuate abusive practices, harm already economically distressed families, and widen the racial wealth gap.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the time for the public to weigh in on a proposed rule governing debt collection practices comes to a close, a coalition of national consumer advocates and civil rights organizations sent a comment...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Unsealed court documents are shedding new light on student loan servicing company Navient and its practice of steering student loan borrowers into forbearance rather than helping them enroll in affordable income-base repayment plans (IBR). According to the documents, an internal memo outlining Navient’s predecessor’s forbearance strategy was: “forbear them, forbear them, make them relinquish the ball...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger joined the Trump Administration in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to give the president more influence and control over the CFPB, the agency that regulates the financial services industry. Kraninger and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly asked the Court to consider an appeal that would allow...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act introduced by Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) and Representative Mark Walker (R-NC). The FUTURE Act extends important mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions...

"Survey also reveals that one in five Americans have been contacted by a debt collector in the past twelve months, including higher numbers in communities of color, among lower-income people, and military families." WASHINGTON, D.C. - Strong majorities across parties oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) proposed debt collection rule including medical debt, according to a new poll released...

CFPB finalizes policy that gives companies a private channel to seek approvals of untested new products and a promise that the CFPB will not take action for consumer protection law violations WASHINGTON D.C. — Consumer advocates criticized today’s announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it has finalized policies to give banks, fintech companies, and other corporations no-action letters...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Ashley Harrington testified before the full House Financial Services Committee for hearing entitled A $1.5 Trillion Crisis: Protecting Student Borrowers and Holding Student Loan Servicers Accountable. In her remarks, Harrington discussed the need to rein in the abusive practices of the student loan servicing industry and urged members...

WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, in response to a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Housing Finance Reform, the U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development released recommendations for reform of the nation’s housing finance system. The National Urban League, Center for Responsible Lending, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced her new Borrower Defense to Repayment rule. These final rules will severely weaken accountability for for-profit colleges and prevent defrauded students from accessing relief. The new rules arrive more than a year after DeVos’ decision to rescind the Obama Administration’s Borrower Defense to Repayment rule, which provided...