From Unbanked to Banked

Source
The Connector Podcast | NC State University
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 bank accounts.
Consumer Finance

New report paints a bleak picture of how North Carolina's court system holds many of the state's poorest people accountable

Source
Bill O'Neil | WXII
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 and sometimes really awful consequences," Sparko said.
Debt Collection & Settlement

NC Report Finds Converting Criminal Financial Obligations to Civil Judgments Results in Heavy Costs and Low Recovery Rate

DURHAM, NC - North Carolinians involved in the criminal justice system are assessed financial obligations that can add up to thousands of dollars—and most are poor and cannot pay them. The practice of converting these fines and fees to civil judgments has become increasingly common in the state, finds a report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending, Forward Justice, and the North Carolina Justice Center. But very little of the civil debt is paid off, so many individuals subject to the judgments go deep into debt and experience harsh consequences that may last for decades. The
Consumer Finance

Waiving Criminal Court Fees Prevents Harms of Civil Debt

Waiving Criminal Court Fees Prevents Harms of Civil Debt

Many people involved in the criminal legal system live on the economic margins. Most defendants are unable to hire their own lawyer due to indigency. In North Carolina, the average person in prison doesn’t have a high school diploma. The cost of involvement in the criminal legal system can quickly add up to thousands of dollars, but the people expected to pay these costs often don’t have the financial resources to do so. Debt that results from this involvement can be difficult or impossible for them to pay off. North Carolina law provides a number of ways for court officials to attempt to...
Research
Consumer Finance

Amicus Brief: North Carolina Supreme Court - Townes v. Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA)

Amicus Brief: North Carolina Supreme Court - Townes v. Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA)

The Center for Responsible Lending, Legal Aid of North Carolina, North Carolina Justice Center, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Financial Protection Law Center and Pisgah Legal Services partnered to filed this amicus brief in the North Carolina Supreme Court in Townes v. Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA). Townes v. PRA is principally about the interpretation of CEPA, NC’s consumer protection statute, and its requirement that debt buyers to produce “itemized accounting” of alleged debts. Plaintiff Ms. Townes is advocating for a bare minimum...
Amicus Brief
Debt Collection & Settlement

OCC Proposed Rule Encourages Predatory Lending and Threatens to Eviscerate North Carolina’s Lending Laws

OCC Proposed Rule Encourages Predatory Lending and Threatens to Eviscerate North Carolina’s Lending Laws

In a September 3 letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Brian Brooks, the Coalition for Responsible Lending wrote: We oppose the OCC’s proposed rule to permit lenders to use the rent-a-bank model to avoid North Carolina’s rigorously enforced interest rate cap. The OCC’s proposed rule will let predatory lenders off the hook for charging interest and fees in excess of what is legally allowed in our state. This rule, if implemented, will bring back the harms associated with predatory lending and limit our state’s ability to protect our consumers from those harms. This rule will not offer...
Letters to Congress
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

North Carolina's Student Debt: Dimensions of a Crisis

North Carolina's Student Debt: Dimensions of a Crisis

While pursuing higher education is still a pathway to higher incomes over a person’s lifetime, student loan debt threatens to undermine this promise in North Carolina and nationwide. Outstanding student loan amounts have risen at an alarming rate over the past decade, and North Carolina has not been immune from this trend. Today, students and their families face a difficult decision: take on substantial debt to fill the gap between ballooning college costs and reduced grant support or forgo a college education in the face of a labor market that increasingly demands credentials and degrees. The...
Research
Student Loans

GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry takes on ‘Auntie Maxine’ in Congress

Source
Robin Bravender | NC Policy Watch
WASHINGTON – Rep. Patrick McHenry has been representing western North Carolina in the U.S. House since he was 29 years old. The 10th District Republican, now 43, has long been considered a rising star among House GOP lawmakers. He’s worked in leadership as Republicans’ chief deputy whip, and he’s often labeled as an aspiring Speaker of the House. He’s got a lifetime rating of 93 percent from the American Conservative Union. Now, he’s got a new platform: adversary-in-chief to House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters.
Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

Kelly Tornow of the Center for Responsible Lending

Source
Clayton Henkel | NC Policy Watch
Kelly Tornow of the Center for Responsible Lending discusses a new study on the shortcoming of for-profit colleges and the debt-load those students face versus those who attend traditional public four-year institutions. Learn more about the failings of for-profit colleges.
Student Loans