Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As soon as Friday, the Supreme Court could announce it will grant a writ of certiorari to review Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a lawsuit brought by the trade association for payday lenders that poses an existential threat to funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and, by extension, similarly funded agencies. The CFPB was established as a response to the 2008 Financial Crisis and the abuses it exposed. “Prior to the creation of the Consumer Bureau, there were no meaningful checks on

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In tonight’s State of the Union speech, President Biden is spotlighting his Administration’s crackdown on unfair and costly junk fees generally and he is specifically highlighting the effort to curb overdraft fees. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has long called for reining in these charges. “Overdraft fees are junk fees. Despite recent progress in addressing overdraft fees, the job is far from complete. These charges wreak havoc on household budgets,” said CRL Senior Policy Counsel Nadine Chabrier. “We applaud President Biden for highlighting their harm. The

Consumer Advocates Urged FDIC to Downgrade the Bank’s CRA Rating Over its Triple-Digit Interest Rate Rent-a-Bank Loans, Deceptive Marketing WASHINGTON – Late last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) made public that it has downgraded the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance rating of Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB Bank) to “needs to improve,” a low rating that few banks get. The FDIC found that the Utah-based bank committed unfair or deceptive acts or practices that “impacted a large number of consumers over an extended period of time." Consumer advocates had

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Nadine Chabrier issued the following statement: “Holiday shopping is ramping up and shoppers are increasingly using new, underregulated credit products like ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ and ‘Earned Wage Access.’ Retailers are also facilitating predatory point-of-sale loans for purchases including for puppies and jewelry. Policymakers should use this moment to recommit to strengthening consumer protections. Holiday dreams should not turn into debt nightmares.” For decades, payday lenders have exploited low-income Americans in

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today ordered Wells Fargo Bank to pay a $3.7 billion settlement over customer abuses tied to its mortgage and automobile lending practices, and surprise overdraft fees and other incorrect charges to customer bank accounts. The bank’s actions led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes. Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement: Wells Fargo is a repeat offender for abusive customer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Banking Committee this week approved the nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be the permanent head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), along with approving two other FDIC nominees. Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement: Martin Gruenberg is a well-qualified, experienced financial regulator with a strong track record of protecting depositors, taxpayers, and consumers. We urge the full Senate to swiftly confirm Mr. Gruenberg, along with vice chair nominee Travis Hill and board of directors

Lenders squeeze borrowers with large balances, long terms, expensive and unnecessary add-on products DURHAM, NC – Large, personal loans demand scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers in Colorado and elsewhere to ensure practices that harm consumers are stopped, concludes an analysis released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Analysis of loan agreements, industry reports and company websites show disturbing and costly practices by two large consumer finance companies, OneMain and Lendmark. The lenders are operating in Colorado under the Consumer Credit Code, which allows annual

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today at 3 pm et, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs will hold a legislative hearing on a discussion draft bill, the VA Housing Loan Forever Act of 2022. Click here for live video and all hearing documents. Click here for written testimony from Mitria Spotser, a consultant for the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). In her testimony, Mitria Spotser states, “[E]nabling the transfer of VA home loan benefits would make homeownership more easily obtainable for many of the families of servicemembers that were denied the ability to utilize the program during their lives and

Washington, D.C. — Today, a broad coalition of financial services and consumer organizations wrote a letter expressing support for new legislation to close the industrial loan company (ILC) charter loophole, the “Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act.” The legislation, introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), prohibits shadow banks and nonbank commercial entities from taking advantage of legal loopholes. These loopholes allow these companies to control a full-service FDIC-insured depository institution without

Americans strongly support rules to protect consumers from unfair financial practices, such as discrimination, excessive fees, and abusive lending and debt collection WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new poll released today shows voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly back the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), financial regulation generally and a variety of new, specific consumer protections. The findings are released as the Supreme Court is poised to consider a lawsuit from payday lenders that could invalidate the CFPB’s funding mechanism, which would undermine its