Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from 19 states plus D.C. asserted their states’ authority to protect consumers from financial abuse yesterday in a letter opposing two bills being considered in Congress that would allow lenders to sidestep state consumer protection laws. HR 3299 and HR 4439 would override state interest rate caps by authorizing sham relationships...

OAKLAND, CA – Yesterday, California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit against Navient Corporation, the nation's largest student loan servicer and its subsidiaries for violations of the state's Unfair Competition and False Advertising Law. Approximately 1.5 million student loan borrowers in California could be affected by the litigation. Specifically, the lawsuit charges that Navient: Steers vulnerable borrowers toward...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a federal district court judge in New York wrongly sided with RD Legal, a company that was sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for scamming 9/11 first responders out of millions of dollars in compensation funds. The judge claimed that the CFPB is unconstitutionally structured and should not be in existence. The impact of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Office of Management and Budget released a report entitled, “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations.” This 132-page document details an unprecedented and broad reorganization across many federal agencies. The proposal also addresses the future of mortgage finance, specifically how two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...

Today Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its annual report, The State of the Nation’s Housing 2018. Published annually since 1988, this year’s report again identifies trends and changes in housing. Key to this year’s findings are: A growing income inequality where the cost of housing has outpaced growth in income, particularly for young and lower-income households...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump Administration has announced its plan to nominate Kathy Kraninger, an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official, to be the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Prior to her role at OMB, Kraninger's experience in the federal government has been focused on homeland security issues, having worked at the Department of Homeland...

OAKLAND, CALIF. – Today at a press conference, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a settlement of $67 million in debt relief for former California students of Corinthian Colleges. The for-profit college, which the federal government shut down four years ago, was a higher education predatory institution that targeted African Americans and Latinos. Attorney General Becerra’s announcement comes as the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Joseph Otting was repeatedly asked if he believes discrimination exists in America. He replied that he had never personally observed it, though he had heard about it from others. This is surprising given that discrimination...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) applauds a federal court ruling out of Texas, which rejected a Joint Motion by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the payday lenders that was intended to delay the compliance date for the CFPB’s Payday Rule. The CFPB is currently led by Mick Mulvaney, who was unlawfully installed as “Acting...

Numbers Confirm Abysmal Outcomes While Focus Groups Reveal the Human Impact of Bad Federal Education Policy; State Action Crucial DURHAM, N.C. – A new Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) research report finds that students who enroll in healthcare support programs at for-profit schools end up carrying much more debt relative to their earnings than do their peers in similar public...