Press Releases

Payday lenders create their own demand with loan terms that generate rapid re-borrowing A full three quarters of the payday industry's loan volume is generated by borrowers who, after repaying one payday loan, must take out another before their next paycheck, new Center for Responsible Lending research shows. The report comes on the eve of the California Senate Judiciary Committee meeting where AB 377, a highly-flawed payday lending bill, will be considered. That body will review the bill next Tues., July 14. "It's now crystal clear that demand for payday loans is greatly exaggerated," said

Statement from Michael Calhoun, President, Center for Responsible Lending "Today the Supreme Court announced a decision that will play a major role in how and whether consumer protection laws are enforced. In Andrew Cuomo vs. the Clearing House Association and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the court overturned lower court decisions, determining that states can enforce their own civil rights laws, including pursuing claims against national banks, when necessary, to ensure that banks follow the law. This Supreme Court decision is a victory for taxpayers, who have suffered

Sue Kwon interviews Ginna Green, from the Center for Responsible Lending about predatory profiling and payday lending. For more information: Ginna Green at (510) 379-5513 or ginna.green@responsiblelending.org.

Ellen Harnick, Senior Policy Counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending contributed this guest post to " The Hearing ", a blog of the Washington Post . Over the past decade, federal bank regulators looked the other way as responsible loans were crowded out of the market by aggressively marketed financial products carrying hidden costs and fees. Tricky products, whose most "innovative" feature was their ability to obscure their true cost, led a race to the bottom that stifled innovation of any benefit to consumers. The aggressive marketing of these products caused an enormous loss of wealth

Payday lenders, in their battle to win legal authority to charge triple-digit interest rates, argue that stating their typical interest rate as 390 percent annually is misleading because their loans are short term. State policy-makers and even voters have specifically rejected this bogus argument but payday lenders are trying to use it again as the U.S. Congress debates how to stop widespread abuses in the payday industry. A new Center for Responsible Lending issue brief, APR Matters, lays out why that argument doesn't wash. First, the typical payday borrower is actually in debt long term

National consumer protection organizations applauded President Obama's proposal to create a new federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency to ensure the safety, fairness and sustainability of credit. The agency would have broad powers to ensure that credit and payment products do not have predatory or deceptive features that can harm consumers or lock them into unaffordable loans. "The international economic crisis was triggered by the failure of federal regulators to stop abusive lending, particularly in the housing sector," said Travis Plunkett, Legislative Director of the Consumer

"We commend the Administration for its innovative plan for protecting America's families from abusive lending practices, including those that led to the current mortgage crisis, as well as those involving costly overdraft bank fees and other small loans. As our country grapples with the current financial meltdown and its epidemic of foreclosures that have crippled the economy, we must address the regulatory lapses that brought us here. At the same time, we must protect consumers through targeted laws such as the credit card legislation Congress recently passed and the pending legislation that

Religious, civil rights and consumer groups today briefed congressional lawmakers and staff on why all families should be covered by the 36 percent rate cap on consumer loans that already protects military families. Over 70 percent of Americans support a cap of 36 percent or less. "The issue of payday loans is an economic justice issue, and it is a moral issue," said Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Arizona. Arizona and Ohio voters last fall sent a strong message to the payday industry when they used the ballot box to boot

Consumers have the deck stacked against them when they are forced into mandatory arbitration by their credit card issuer or other financial services provider, an analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending confirms. Many consumers don't even know that the contracts they sign for most credit cards, auto loans and other small loan products come with hidden clauses that require they use arbitration rather than the courts if a complaint arises. A recent poll shows Americans believe they should have the right to pursue claims in court if they want. The CRL analysis, "Stacked Deck," details some

A dismal milestone was reached over the weekend: One million new foreclosures have been filed so far in 2009, according to estimates by the Center for Responsible Lending. This comes on the heels of a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the first quarter 2009 National Delinquency Survey, showing that 12% of all mortgages are now delinquent—the highest level since the MBA started measuring 37 years ago. "The escalation of foreclosures on all types of loans is alarming," said Michael Calhoun, President of CRL. "It's easy to think, "Well, that's tough luck for the families that lose