Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development from the U.S. House of Representative holds a hearing today examining the implications of President Biden’s student loan relief policies for borrowers, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is releasing its letter to the Subcommittee that states, in part: “The current Administration’s policies go a long way toward...

OAKLAND, CA - The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) proposed new regulations on Friday that would treat Earned Wage Advance (EWA) products as credit and require providers to disclose the true cost of the loan and abide by interest rate caps. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and other advocacy organizations have sounded the alarm as predatory...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday completed a Final Rule, titled Restoring HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Standard, to help guide implementation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. “Modern housing discrimination operates below the surface, perniciously narrowing life’s opportunities. The Biden-Harris Administration has correctly recognized that to root out discrimination, we need the strong...

AEI Housing Center and CRL warn of risks similar to lead-up to 2008 housing crisis WASHINGTON, DC – Non-bank lenders are making cash-out refinance mortgage loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Administration (VA) to cash-strapped homeowners – particularly low wealth and veteran borrowers and those in communities of color – that can provide a quick influx...

Predatory Puppy Loans, Rates up to 160% APR, and High Default Rates Justify Lower Grade on Serving Communities’ Credit Needs WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of consumer advocates submitted a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in connection with the agency's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination of FinWise Bank. FinWise Bank’s lending through American First Finance, Elevate, and...

Companies seek endorsement of payday-like products even in states with reasonable usury caps DURHAM, NC -State regulators should treat earned wage advance products like loans and hold lenders to usury and credit standards to prevent these products from putting borrowers into an unaffordable cycle of debt, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and other advocates will tell lawmakers today at...

CRL letter warns bills would “eliminate important safeguards for both consumers and the market” WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the House Financial Services Committee’s Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee holds a hearing on various bills to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is releasing its letter to the Subcommittee that states, in part...

Letter sent as OCC considers TD Bank’s merger bid WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several civil rights and consumer groups are calling for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to “ensure that OCC-supervised banks make necessary reforms to their inequitable overdraft programs.” Concerns about the persistence of this type of junk fee and policy prescriptions were expressed in a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Supreme Court just announced it will hear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited. The lawsuit, which was brought by a trade association for payday lenders, poses an existential threat to funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and, by extension, similarly funded agencies. “This case imperils the stable functioning...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced that for new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, the mortgage insurance premium will be reduced by 0.3 percentage point, which translates to around $800 a year in savings for families with the average-sized FHA-insured mortgage of around $270,000. “The Biden-Harris Administration is...