North Carolina

DURHAM, NC – High-cost lenders continue to use out of state “Rent-a-Bank” partnerships to evade North Carolina interest rate caps and consumer protections, making it harder for households to meet their basic needs and build financial stability, according to a report issued today by the Durham-based Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The report, “ Above the Law: How Tech-Enabled High-Cost...

Decades ago, banks allowed their customers to overdraft their accounts as a courtesy, Pete Smith, a senior researcher for the Durham-based Center for Responsible Lending, told The News & Observer in a phone interview. Banking wasn’t as digital as it is today, and customers couldn’t simply open an app to see whether a check had cleared.

Several factors are making buying cars more expensive, said Lucia Constantine, a senior researcher at the Durham-based Center for Responsible Lending. In recent years, vehicles have become pricier, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting supply chain issues, not to mention new tariffs implemented by the Trump administration, Constantine said. Cars also incorporate more technology than before, which adds to...

In 2024, nearly a quarter of buy now, pay later customers made a late payment, according to the Federal Reserve, a notable jump from 18% the prior year. Late payments can carry fees disproportionate to original sales prices, says Nadine Chabrier, senior policy counsel at the Durham-based Center for Responsible Lending, part of Self-Help Credit Union. “I don’t consider (it)...

The rally attracted particular interest in Durham, which is home to the national nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending and what Rust calls “a huge concentration of people who work in consumer protection.”

Car title lending. Thankfully, a lot of North Carolinians have never heard of this particular business because it’s long been prohibited under state law. Unfortunately, many residents of other states are all too familiar with these frequently predatory loans in which borrowers sometimes pay interest rates of as high as 300% and face repossession of their vehicle if they miss...

“Unfortunately, this [loan] comes with terms that place a crushing burden on the university's future, a burden that is simply unsustainable,” said Jaylon Herbin with the Center for Responsible Lending.

In the latest episode of The Connector, The Collaborative Executive Director Marquita Robertson and Center for Responsible Lending Director of NC Policy Rochelle Sparko speak with Institute for Emerging Issues Communications Director Jennifer Heiss about what it means to be unbanked, and steps those who are unbanked can take to protect their money and get set up with FDIC insured...

The Center for Responsible Lending helped write the report. The group's spokesperson, Rochelle Sparko, said they're urging judges to waive civil penalties for those unable to pay them. "It is our position that this is a far better outcome for folks who truly are indigent, then converting fines and fees to a civil judgment largely because of those long term...