Federal Regulators Must Stop Predatory Lenders from Acquiring National Banks and Exporting High-Cost Loans to More Working Families

Harms of Opp-Fi Bank’s High-Cost Loans Recently Were Highlighted in CRL Report Washington, DC – Federal banking regulators must not allow predatory lenders to acquire a national bank charter and expand their ability to offer high-cost loans that cause long-term financial distress for working people struggling to manage today’s affordability challenges, said the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Opportunity Financial...

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Finds that Federal Law Allows States to Opt to Enforce Their Interest Rate Limits

A panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit today held that Colorado can protect its residents from out-of-state loans from state-chartered banks that carry interest rates above what is permitted under Colorado law. Predatory rent-a-bank lenders charging rates up to 199% APR or higher have taken advantage of federal laws that allow banks to charge...

Buried in Debt: New CRL Research Shows Borrower Struggles

Providing window into problems facing families nationwide, original research about Colorado borrowers shows expensive credit is already burying people in debt, debunking argument for legalizing even costlier credit DENVER, COLO. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) today released the report “ Buried in Debt: High-Cost Credit Products Harm Working Coloradans.” The report’s findings refute a misguided argument often made...

Appellate Court Upholds Colorado’s Power to Block Predatory Out-of-State Bank Loans

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Finds that Federal Law Allows States to Opt to Enforce Their Interest Rate Limits DENVER – A panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit today held that Colorado can protect its residents from out-of-state loans from state-chartered banks that carry interest rates above what is permitted under Colorado law. Predatory...

Upsold and Weighed Down: An Analysis of a Subset of Supervised Installment Lending in Colorado

Previous research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has revealed the harms associated with high-cost installment loans, which are often marketed to subprime borrowers and have annual percentage rates of interest (APRs) in excess of 36%. This paper explores a different segment of the installment loan market: loans made by consumer finance companies with rates at or below 36%...

Amicus Brief: Fulford v. Avant

From the introduction of the brief: Since the founding of our nation, states have limited interest rates as the primary protection against predatory lending. Evasions of usury laws are as old as the laws, but courts consistently look beyond form to the substance of the transaction to prevent subterfuge. Ever since banks were provided with legislative exemptions from state usury...

Amicus Brief: Martha Fulford v. Marlette Funding

From the introduction of the brief: Since the founding of our nation, states have limited interest rates as the primary protection against predatory lending. Evasions of usury laws are as old as the laws, but courts consistently look beyond form to the substance of the transaction to prevent subterfuge. Ever since banks were provided with legislative exemptions from state usury...