Research & Policy

Dear Chairman Bernanke, Director Cordray, Director Gruenberg, and Comptroller Curry: One year ago, we wrote to urge the federal regulators of our nation's banks to take immediate action to stop banks from making unaffordable, high-cost payday loans. We were encouraged by the FDIC's May letter indicating that it was deeply concerned and was investigating the practice, and we have also...

Banks that engage in payday lending have been in the media spotlight. Here we give a large sample of recent media coverage, legislative proposals, and public concerns directed at debt-trap lending by banks.

Joint Recommendations from CRL and Consumers Union States have yet to recover from the foreclosure crisis that has stripped trillions of dollars from homeowners and devastated local communities across the nation. Industry analysts estimate that 6 million borrowers remain at risk of foreclosure. States are in a strong position to prevent unnecessary foreclosures, stabilize local housing markets and protect homeowners...

Joint research from CRL and the Consumer Federation of America finds that car-title loans—small-dollar loans secured by the title to a vehicle owned outright—cost U.S. consumers $3.6 billion a year in interest on $1.6 billion in loans. Read the Full Report Read the Executive Summary These products share many of payday loans' predatory features: triple-digit interest rates, balloon payments at...

Applying safety and soundness standards to bank payday loan products follows longstanding principles and policy of the prudential regulators. Consistently, the prudential regulators, including the OCC, FDIC and the Federal Reserve, have addressed problems with a variety of consumer lending products by citing not only consumer protection concerns, but also safety and soundness concerns, even when those products are very...

On February 23, the New York Times published an article describing how some banks enable Internet payday lending. In this brief, CRL provides additional legal context to supplement that article.

CRL and allied organizations maintain that CFPB's proposal addresses two issues critical to the future of safe, sustainable, and affordable access to mortgage credit. First, it considers how to define compensation for the purpose of calculating the points and fees cap contained in the qualified mortgage definition. Second, it proposes a series of exemptions for specialized lending programs and financial...

The Center for American Progress, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America and the National Council of LaRaza respond to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal on the Ability to Repay Standards. The allies offered specific practices to ensure affordable access to mortgage credit. Two specific issues formed the crux of their concerns: How mortgage lending compensation is defined...

A recent CoreLogic report ( The Mortgage Market Impact of Qualified Mortgage Regulation) asserts that 48 percent of the mortgage market would not qualify as a "safe loan" under new Qualified Mortgage (QM) guidelines. CRL's review of this study finds that CoreLogic's model unnecessarily excludes certain categories of loans and makes broad (and possibly unwarranted) assumptions about the expiration of...

This is CRL's comment to the CFPB in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Request for Information Regarding Credit Card Market. In this response, CRL argues that the Credit CARD Act of 2009 has made pricing clearer without restricting credit, raising its cost or curbing the ability of card issuers to price for risk. Contrary to curbing risk-based pricing...

Payday Loans Create a Debt Trap. For California families living paycheck to paycheck, the high price of a payday loan and the fact that it must be paid off in one lump sum two short weeks later virtually ensures that cash-strapped borrowers will be unable to meet their basic expenses and pay off their loan with their next paycheck. Consequently...

The Dodd?Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) includes a common sense reform that requires lenders to determine whether borrowers could actually repay a mortgage before that transaction takes place. The law also includes a streamlined way to meet this new requirement, which is making loans that meet a "Qualified Mortgage" standard. QM loans also have benefits for...

State of Lending outlines predatory lending practices in various fields of consumer lending, and explains why protecting fair, affordable access to credit is vital for both consumers and the U.S. economy. It also describes the regulatory and legislative actions needed to halt the predatory lending practices that exist today and prevent the rise of new abuses. Read the Foreword Return...

This infographic shows the changes in the use of plastic payments, including credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. To embed our infographic to your site, simply just cut and paste the code below

Center for Responsible Lending

Credit cards are one of the most common purchasing tools used by Americans, with many households relying on credit cards to pay for basic living costs. In the past, credit card companies took advantage of this reliance by engaging in unfair and deceptive practices such as complicated pricing and high fees. This chapter describes these abusive practices and the reforms...

Income and employment opportunities are important for wealth-building and financial well-being, and a college education is critical in today's competitive job market. But post-secondary education has never been more expensive, and most U.S. families rely on student loans to help finance a college education. In the U.S., total student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion and nearly one in five...

Credit cards are one of the most common purchasing tools used by Americans, and total U.S. credit card debt has increased $172 billion since 2000. This doesn't mean Americans are living beyond their means--a recent study found that many low- and middle-income households rely on credit cards to pay for basic living costs or weather medical expenses and unemployment. In...

Car dealerships often markup auto loans by steering buyers into a higher interest rate loan than they qualify for. Don't let this happen to you. Find out how much extra interest may be in your next car loan with this calculator.

Despite the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, owning a home is still central to the hopes and aspirations of many Americans. Even with the recent decline in house prices, owning a home can bestow more financial and non-financial benefits than any other single asset. This means more economic mobility and financial security for families, and stronger communities too...

Automobiles are one of the largest purchases most American households will make. Car ownership affects where people can live and expands their options for jobs. So the affordability and sustainability of auto financing can have a big impact on many U.S. households. Purchasing a car is a complicated endeavor, and the sales price, trade-in value, and financing can all have...

Ever since the financial crisis started, the Blame Game has been a popular pastime. In this infographic, we highlight players who often get more than their share of pointing fingers. To embed our infographic to your site, simply just cut and paste the code below

Student loans can help you pay for college, but they're not all alike. This infographic shows the different features of federal vs. private loans. Read the Chapter To embed our infographic to your site, simply cut and paste the code below http://qa.crl.w.lmdagency.net/state-lending/student-loans" data-mce-href="http://www.responsiblelending.org/state-of-lending/student-loans/federa…"><img alt="Federal vs. Private Student Loans - Infographic" src="http://www.responsiblelending.org/state-of-lending/images/student-loan-… " title="Federal vs. Private Student Loans - Infographic"...

This chapter in the State of Lending report series presents a picture of the overall financial status of U.S. consumers today. It is based on data from the Consumer Expenditure survey, the Survey of Consumer Finances, and other national data sources. These sources reveal that, since 2000, American families have faced declining real incomes,a higher cost of living, greater debt...