A Syracuse nonprofit steps in to give mortgages to Black homeowners neglected by banks

Source
Tim Knauss | Syracuse Post-Standard
Mitria Spotser, federal policy director at the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, said small minority-owned banks, credit unions and nonprofit organizations are increasingly important mortgage providers in minority and low-income neighborhoods. Policymakers and bank regulators should encourage their work, both with increased federal CDFI funding and with continued pressure on larger banks to buy mortgages from them, she said. “We need to continue to encourage this support by larger financial institutions of smaller nonprofits who are doing that work,’’ she said.
Mortgage Lending

Katko, Democrats: Student loan debt should be eligible for bankruptcy relief

Source
Mark Weiner | Syracuse.com
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Katko has joined with some ideological foes – Elizabeth Warren and Jerrold Nadler – to help some of the 44 million Americans trying to repay $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. The Democrats and Katko, R-Camillus, introduced a bill Thursday that would give borrowers who declare bankruptcy the option of having their student loan debt forgiven.
Student Loans

Credit card debt-settlement services are risky and could affect your credit score

Source
Gregory Bresiger | New York Post
You’re hopelessly in credit card debt and considering bankruptcy. Wait — you don’t have to pay it all back, a television announcer claims. There’s “a secret that the credit card companies don’t want you to know.” This “secret” will wipe out card debts for a fraction of what you owe, promises the ad, which is for CreditAssociates, a credit card settlement company. “On average, we save our clients in excess of 55 percent of what they otherwise would owe,” CreditAssociates Executive VP Rick Burton told The Post. But critics question some debt-settlement services and their methods.
Debt Collection & Settlement

Testimony: For-Profit College Accountability Act

Testimony: For-Profit College Accountability Act

For-profit schools target students of color, low-income students, women, and veterans for enrollment, while failing to provide a quality education enabling students to obtain gainful employment. As is described below, New York for-profit students are more likely to have higher debt loads, lower graduation rates, and higher default rates than other students in the state. Consequently, an inordinate number of low-income students, students of color, and women in New York are left with large loans that they cannot repay and very little to no educational benefit in return. The state can and must...
Testimony
Student Loans

States without Payday and Car‐title Lending Save $5 Billion in Fees Annually

States without Payday and Car‐title Lending Save $5 Billion in Fees Annually

Payday and car title loans are small-dollar, high-cost products that thrive on keeping consumers in a cycle of debt. With lenders doing essentially no underwriting, consumers find it easy to obtain these loans, often marketed as a solution to financial emergency. However, the unaffordability of the loan and the lenders extreme leverage over the borrowers – either through direct access to the bank account or threatening repossession of the borrower’s car - makes it very difficult to escape a cycle of debt that can last months, if not years. Debt trap products often lead to other financial harms...
Research
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans