Press Releases

A new report from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) finds that the debt buying and debt collection industries have grown rapidly in recent years – and with them, a suite of predatory and abusive collection practices that could cause consumers financial havoc. Today, one in seven Americans is being pursued by a debt collector. Despite their recent growth, the...

Chris Kukla, vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending, said: We are happy to see that BMO Harris Bank will no longer compensate car dealers through hidden interest rate increases. BMO Harris is ahead of its peers in ending "dealer interest rate markups," a common, virtually invisible practice that adds billions of dollars to the cost of car loans...

Washington, DC – New research released today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on payday lending affirms what CRL has long found about the inherent defects of payday lending and shows that payday loans create a debt trap that makes borrowers worse off. Among the new findings: Nearly three-fifths of monthly borrowers in the CFPB study were recipients of...

Joint statement The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Council of La Raza, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Urban League, and Center for Responsible Lending express serious concerns, say much needs to be fixed The new Senate proposal to reform the housing...

The Department of Education's proposed "gainful employment" rule is a step forward but falls short of protecting consumers from unaffordable debt created by predatory educational programs at for-profit colleges, according to the Center for Responsible Lending."The rule, as it stands now, does not adequately protect students," said Maura Dundon, senior policy counsel at CRL. "It allows too many students to...

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson and Ranking Member Senator Mike Crapo announced yesterday a bipartisan agreement on a plan to reform the housing finance system. The proposal has yet to be fully unveiled. "We appreciate Senators Johnson and Crapo's attention to this critically important issue," said Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending. "The mortgage market is...

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) applauds Bank of America for taking another important step that prevents costly overdraft fees for consumers. "Overdraft fees have a punishing impact on financially vulnerable Americans, often ousting them from the banking system altogether," said Gary Kalman, executive vice president of CRL. "CRL commends Bank of America for offering a more responsible approach to...

Experts at the Center for Responsible Lending applauded the CFPB for their aggressive action on the for-profit university ITT Tech. According to the CFPB, "ITT exploited its students and pushed them into high-cost private student loans that were very likely to end in default. The CFPB is seeking restitution for victims, a civil fine, and an injunction against the company."...

During the annual State of the Union address, the President rightly called for housing finance reform that keeps the American Dream of homeownership alive for this and future generations. This Dream accounts for $10 trillion of our nation's economy and is a proven path towards upward mobility for millions of Americans. It is also why it is important to preserve...

African Americans and Latinos pay higher interest rates on dealer-financed car loans than white buyers, even though people of color report more attempts to negotiate a better deal. According to a new report issued today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), 39% of Latinos and 32% of African Americans reported attempts to negotiate their interest rate, compared to only...