WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed along straight party lines the "Wrong CHOICE Act," an extreme bill that would shred essential consumer protections enacted in the wake of the financial crisis through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Separately, the American Bankers Association recently wrote a letter asking President Trump’s Administration to essentially eliminate protections against predatory small dollar loans, including the popular CARD Act, which has saved consumers billions of dollars. Both initiatives call for nixing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s forthcoming rule on payday loans and thereby expanding use of these 300%+ interest debt traps.
Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Executive Vice President Debbie Goldstein released the following statement:
It is clear that payday lenders and other legal loan sharks are on the march in Congress and with the Administration. These actions represent a push to expand debt traps and abusive practices by financial predators. If they succeed, people will lose billions of dollars to the tricks and traps of predatory lenders and our economy will suffer. People must continue to urge their Members of Congress to push back against these harmful moves.
The Wrong CHOICE Act would severely obstruct the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has returned nearly $12 billion to 29 million Americans harmed by illegal and predatory actions of financial companies.
Here are a few items for your reference:
- Map of U.S. Payday Interest Rates (January 2017)
- Consumers Lose $8 Billion In Fees Each Year With Payday And Car-title Loans (January 2017)
- Comment Executive Summary on CFPB’s Proposed Rule on Payday and Car Title Lending (October 2016)
- Over 700 Organizations Across the Country Join Comment Letter for a Strong Payday Rule (October 2016)
- The American People Really Really Really Don’t Like Payday Lending (June 2016)
For more information or to arrange an interview with a CRL spokesperson on this issue, please contact Charlene Crowell at 919.313.8523 or Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.