Press Releases

CRL urges bank to address concerns raised in merger review WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, TD Bank and First Horizon Bank announced the termination of their merger agreement, citing uncertainty about the timetable to obtain regulatory approvals. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) along with civil rights and consumer group partners had urged the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to withhold approval given systemic risks, harms of increased consolidation, and TD’s poor treatment of customers. A separate letter urged the OCC to not sign off on merger plans

Pricing Framework is an Important Initial Step in the Right Direction to Advance Fair and Affordable Housing and Strengthen Communities WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leading civil rights and housing policy organizations issued the following statement supporting the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s pricing framework: We commend Director Thompson and FHFA for recent updates to the mortgage pricing framework that represent a critical first step in the journey to create a more equitable system for creditworthy borrowers. The updates help address persistent gaps in wealth and homeownership while also

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Starting today at 10 AM ET, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services will hold a markup and vote on several pieces of legislation, including a wide-ranging bill that would undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and support predatory lenders. A diverse coalition of over 70 organizations wrote a letter to Members of the Committee, urging them to vote against this anti-consumer bill. “We need the CFPB to continue as an effective consumer watchdog with independent funding, so that financial industry lobbyists cannot use their influence over the annual

WASHINGTON, DC – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) today released the latest installment of its “In Focus” video series, calling for updated federal laws to prevent families from falling into poverty due to excessive wage seizures by employers. CRL advocates for the federal government to protect $12,000 in bank accounts and an associated $1,000 per week in wages from garnishment for workers repaying outstanding consumer debt. The current formula, based on the federal minimum wage and which hasn’t been updated since the late 1960s, protects only $217.50 of weekly wages from seizure. CRL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) yesterday announced it would appeal to the Seventh Circuit a U.S. District Judge’s February ruling that dismissed the agency’s suit against Townstone Financial, Inc., a Chicago-area nonbank mortgage lender that the agency alleges violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act. CFPB alleged that Townstone Financial, on a regular radio program, podcasts, and its social media platforms, discouraged Black consumers from applying for credit to purchase homes in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin

Utah’s Capital Community and First Electronic Banks and Kentucky’s Republic Bank & Trust accused of predatory lending, evasions of state interest rate limits WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of consumer advocates is urging the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to downgrade the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating of three banks. Utah’s Capital Community Bank (CC Bank) and First Electronic Bank, along with Kentucky’s Republic Bank & Trust, use “rent-a-bank” schemes to help third-party, non-bank lenders evade state rate caps on loans with up to 225% annual interest rates, failing to

CRL also urges mortgages servicers to move swiftly in implementing the policy WASHINGTON, D.C. – Financially struggling homeowners who have mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will receive help staying in their homes and affording their mortgages in the coming months. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced yesterday that the Enterprises, which FHFA regulates, will strengthen their payment deferral policies by allowing borrowers facing financial hardship to defer up to six months of mortgage payments and repay the past-due amounts at the end of their

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer and small business advocacy groups yesterday urged a congressional subcommittee to ensure that entrepreneurs, especially historically underserved entrepreneurs, have fair access to the capital needed to build and grow their businesses. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and National CAPACD submitted a letter to the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access from the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Small Business urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled yesterday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) funding structure is constitutional. This decision comes as the U.S. Supreme Court plans to hear a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the CFPB funding structure in the coming months. “The Second Circuit rightly reaffirmed that CFPB funding is constitutional – as is clear from judicial precedent, our country’s history, and the text of our Constitution,” said Mitria Spotser, vice president and federal policy director at the Center for

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development from the U.S. House of Representative holds a hearing today examining the implications of President Biden’s student loan relief policies for borrowers, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is releasing its letter to the Subcommittee that states, in part: “The current Administration’s policies go a long way toward fixing a student loan system that was already broken. Therefore, we urge the members of this Committee to not only support the Administration’s efforts, but also encourage the Department of