Comments to the Federal Trade Commission on Remedying Unfair and Deceptive Practices in the Marketplace

The Holder Rule is one of the most important actions the Commission has ever taken in preventing and remedying unfair and deceptive practices in the marketplace. When a seller of a good or service originates or helps arrange credit, the Rule allows consumers to raise the seller’s misconduct as a basis for bringing claims or defenses against the entity holding...

Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement: One Main and Springleaf Holdings

The Center for Responsible Lending1 submits this comment to provide additional context about the consumer installment loan market, in particular to highlight issues unaddressed by the proposed settlement with One Main and Springleaf. In this letter, the undersigned organizations bring to your attention three areas of concern that the settlement did not address, but which have a significant impact on...

Proposed Changes to Federal Housing Administration Loan Certifications

Certification plays an important role in protecting the health of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mutual mortgage insurance fund so that millions of Americans—many of whom are first-time buyers, come from low and moderate-income backgrounds, or purchase homes in communities of color—can continue to become successful homeowners. Certification also serves another equally important purpose by requiring lenders to certify that...

FHA Lender Approval, Annual Renewal, Periodic Updates and Required Reports by FHA-Approved Lenders

FHA has proposed to shift the obligations for mortgagees to certify that they have upheld all legal requirements from the loan-level certification to the initial and annual lender level certification requirement. In principle, we are not opposed to shifting the placement of these requirements, so long as FHA vigorously enforces these requirements and upholds the need to provide timely annual...

Expanding Access to Credit Through Online Marketplace Lending

This comment was filed in response to the Department of the Treasury’s request for information on marketplace lending. Our history of advocacy for fair lending practices, and against unfair ones, is the lens through which we focus these comments, where we emphasize: Online marketplace loans must comply with applicable state law Underwriting for ability-to-repay, based on income and expenses, should...

Loan-level Certification Requirements for FHA Insured Mortgages Comment

The right loan-level certification requirements will make it possible for consumers to be protected from risky mortgage products, for FHA to operate a safe and sustainable mortgage insurance program, and for lenders to have the clarity and certainty they need about enforcement standards to expand access to FHA-insured mortgage credit.

Coalition Letter to NCUA July 2015

On July 30, 2015, the Center for Responsible Lending joined Higher Ed Not Debt, Consumers Union, Consumer Action, Generation Progress, National Consumer Law Center, Student Debt Crisis, United States Student Association, Veterans for Education Success, and the Woodstock Institute in sending this letter to Debbie Matz, Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration. The letter concerns private student loans to...

Oppose HR 1210 Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act

H.R. 1210 would weaken the CFPB's Ability-to-Repay standards for mortgage loans. These standards are designed to protect consumers against the kind of toxic and exploitative mortgage loans which helped cause the financial crisis and led to massive consumer losses, and should not be weakened. The bill would allow depository institutions that hold a loan in portfolio to receive a legal...

Comments on Proposed Changes to Federal Housing Administration Loan Certifications

HUD/FHA is proposing to amend language on their certification forms where lenders certify that a loan is eligible for FHA financing (insurance). We believe the proposed language is a step in the right direction, but we offer additional suggestions. The components of our recommended framework to FHA include providing a certification that includes provisions for all of the following: The...