CRL in the News

State lawmakers have again taken aim at the growing student-debt crisis in New Jersey, releasing a bill that former Gov. Chris Christie let die when he left office. The Assembly Higher Education Committee on Thursday passed S-1149/A-455 which would establish a student-loan ombudsman within the state Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI). It would give DOBI the power to enforce...

Last month 400 extremely fortunate Morehouse College graduates flipped their tassels to the amazing revelation that they would be starting their post-college careers without student debt. Richard Smith, an incredibly generous billionaire from Texas, has pledged to pay off all of their student loans. Smith’s gesture is noble, but unfortunately most other college graduates can’t count on the generosity of...

Civil rights organizations are urging the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to step up oversight of the student-loan servicing industry and root out discrimination. It has been two years since the bureau identified student-loan servicing as posing substantial risk of credit discrimination and pledged further investigation into disparate outcomes for borrowers. That level of evaluation requires records and...

In a bid to give consumers more choice when it comes to credit card and other disputes with corporations, two Democratic lawmakers are pursuing the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act. The bill would do away with forced arbitration clauses relating to credit card disputes. This means consumers would have the choice of opting for arbitration after a dispute erupts, instead...

The rate of Black homeownership in America – now at 41.1 percent, according to 2019 U. S. Census numbers – is even lower than it was when the U. S. Fair Housing Act was signed into law 51 years ago on April 11, 1968. This means Black homeownership is 32.1 percentage points lower than that of Whites, which stands at...

This spring, the Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) hosted a roundtable in Washington, D.C., on federal government mortgage programs and their role in ensuring access to credit and affordable homeownership. This included a discussion on government mortgage programs and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) focusing on mortgage lending since the housing crisis of 2008. The roundtable covered the financial performance and risks...

Consumers saddled with student loan debt often have to delay financial goals, like buying a home. But for those who want the benefits of ownership before their student debt is paid off, Fannie Mae has options that can make it easier to qualify and handle the monthly payments. While you can’t give specific financial advice to clients, you can help...

There’s the West Chester, Pa., woman irate over the $25 broadcast and sports fees she pays every month though she never watches sports—and about the $150 cancellation fee when she quit her provider. Or the traveler in Texas who found that every time he went through a highway toll, the car-rental company dinged him $15 on top of the toll...

Credit unions are warning that a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would significantly reduce access to financial services. Sanders, I-Vt., and Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced their Stop Loan Sharks Act in mid-May, a policy proposal that would cap interest rates at 15% for consumer loans, including credit cards and payday loans. But some credit union executives are...

Consumer groups today applauded passage of the Consumers First Act. The previous leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recovered over $12 billion in restitution and cancelled debts for over 30 million Americans. Under its new leadership, the CFPB has not lived up to that standard. It has failed to adequately enforce the rules, while advancing a set of proposals...