CRL in the News

WASHINGTON — When the Federal Housing Finance Agency opened a fair-lending monitoring office last August, there was little fanfare. But the launch of the Office of Fair Lending Oversight stood in contrast to different moves by officials elsewhere in the Trump administration. Today the FHFA’s Office of Fair Lending Oversight is still somewhat under the radar. It has five employees...

After over a decade of stagnation, the race is finally on to release mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control and reshape the housing finance system. The devil is, as always, in the details — except that some of the “details” aren’t so limited in scope. One of the biggest questions in play right now revolves around...

In her first four and a half months on the job, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger was no stranger to Capitol Hill, holding in-person meetings with lawmakers more than twice as often as her predecessor did during a similar time frame. Kraninger, who has been at the helm of the agency since December, met in person with 16...

Hannah Hudson was one of the few high school graduates lucky enough to take a European summer vacation before the long slog of adulthood. Little did she know, she’d spend a half-day wondering how to cover her next meal after a series of overdraft fees from Bank of America left her more than $100 in debt. Halfway around the globe...

For California borrowers trapped in loans with triple-digit interest rates, a proposed bill to impose a 36% cap might seem like a godsend. If passed, Assembly Bill 539 would end a decades-long practice of allowing installment loans of $2,500 to $10,000 to carry such high interest rates by limiting that number to 36%. But in striking a deal on the...

Sallie Mae, the student loan provider once sponsored by the government, is expanding into credit cards. The company this month unveiled a suite of three credit cards aimed at college students, recent graduates and young professionals. Its new cards offer rewards for responsible financial behavior. They come 18 months after the company introduced personal loans.

When you’re dealing with medical bills not covered by your insurance or car repairs not covered by your warranty, sometimes a personal loan has you covered. You could even use a personal loan for a non-emergency such as a home improvement project. However, you should always be on the lookout for fraudulent lenders. Personal loan scams specialize in taking advantage...

Bringing “real accountability to the Wild West of student loan servicing,” Maine lawmakers passed a “Student Loan Bill of Rights,” which will give the state the authority to investigate and intervene when borrowers complain of abusive or deceptive practices by student loan lenders. The bill, unanimously passed by the Maine Senate on Monday, moves now to Governor Janet Mills’ desk...

Millions of Americans have filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy to eliminate crippling debt and get a fresh financial start, but nowadays it isn’t unusual for people to come out of the process still owing much of their debt in the form of student loans, according to a report issued Tuesday by LendEDU. Based on anonymized data from 1,083 bankruptcy cases across...

Tim Worstall recently took issue with the Center for Responsible Lending’s position that payday loans should be capped at a 36% annual rate. He seemed troubled by the fact that with such a rate cap in place, payday lenders choose to no longer make their predatory loans. I’d like to offer some clarity. First, yes, it’s true — we do...