After Disney Wielded its Terms of Use to Dismiss Customer’s Lawsuit, Groups Call on Congress to Pass FAIR Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of the recent news of the Walt Disney Company’s attempted use of its terms and conditions to deny the legal rights of its patrons harmed at a restaurant on its premises, public interest organizations today called on the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees to take steps to pass the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act...

CFPB Fines Navient $120 Million for Defrauding Student Borrowers, Bans Servicer from Federal Student Loans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed today a proposed order against student loan servicer Navient for decades of defrauding borrowers. According to an announcement made by the CFPB, Navient would have to pay a $20 million penalty and provide $100 million in redress for affected consumers. The CFPB’s order also permanently bans Navient from most federal...

New Poll Shows Republican, Independent, and Democratic Voters Support the Consumer Bureau

Fresh data also show voters support the CFPB cracking down on junk fees, discrimination, and other harmful actions from financial firms WASHINGTON, DC – As the focus on the American voter intensifies with the coming election, a new poll released today shows voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), financial regulation...

Advocates: CFPB Should Stop Paycheck Advance Apps From Hiding Junk Fees and Other Costs From Consumers

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released their joint comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which detailed their support and recommendations for the CFPB’s proposed interpretive rule for paycheck advance apps – credit products that are essentially fintech payday loans...

160+ Groups Urge Clear Fee Disclosures for Paycheck Advance Apps in Letter to the CFPB

WASHINGTON– More than 160 consumer, labor, civil rights, faith-based, and community organizations submitted a comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in support of its proposed interpretive rule ensuring important legal protections for consumers who use earned wage advance (EWA) or other fintech cash advance products that need to be repaid with the borrower’s next paycheck. The letter...

Judge Rules in Favor of Small Business Data Transparency Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule requiring lenders to collect demographic data on small business borrowers applying for loans. Mitria Wilson-Spotser, vice president and federal policy director at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), made the following statement: The court correctly held that the CFPB was well...

Recent CRL Solar Lending Paper Supports Federal Regulators' Call for Increased Enforcement to Protect Consumers from Shady Tactics of Residential Solar System Lenders

WASHINGTON, DC – Federal consumer regulatory agencies today released data and resources that reflect findings in a  paper released last week by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) that show the nation’s leading residential solar energy financing lenders currently use many of the predatory methods employed in the subprime mortgage lending market of 2007-2010 – including undisclosed profit arrangements with their preferred...

CRL Urges CFPB to Strengthen Proposed Rule for ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ Lenders

WASHINGTON, D.C., – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to implement more robust protections for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) digital user accounts in a comment letter submitted yesterday evening. The letter was issued in response to the Bureau’s call for public input on an interpretive rule for BNPL lenders published in May...

Widespread Residential Solar Energy Adoption Threatened by Industry Sales and Financing Model That Repeats Disastrous Predatory Subprime Mortgage Lending Practices

CRL's Shady Side of Solar System Financing Paper Shows Need for Stronger Consumer Protection and Regulatory Enforcement WASHINGTON, DC – A paper released today by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) revealed that the nation’s leading residential solar energy financing lenders operate under a business model that uses many of the predatory methods employed in the subprime mortgage lending market...

CFPB’s Proposed Earned Wage Advance Rule Clarifies That High Cost Predatory “Fintech” Products are Loans, and Lenders Must Disclose Fees and Charges to Consumers

WASHINGTON, DC – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today issued a proposed interpretive rule that will ensure important legal protections for consumers who use fast-growing wage advance loan products. The proposed rule clarifies that so-called earned wage advance (EWA) products are loans, and that many tips and fees, like expedited delivery fees, are finance charges under the federal Truth...