Press Releases

Coalition of civil rights and consumer organizations urge Senate to include provisions to strengthen PPP’s infrastructure WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. The bill makes two important improvements to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including extending the covered expense period from 8 to 24 weeks and pushing back...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Consumer advocates slammed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its final rule issued today that encourages online non-bank lenders to launder their loans through banks so they can offer high-cost triple-digit loans in states where such loans are illegal. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposed a similar rule but has not finalized it...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released the final version of a rule to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which jointly released the CRA proposed rule with the OCC, did not join in this final announcement. The Federal Reserve Board did not sign on to the proposed...

Around a decade ago, banks’ “deposit advance” products put borrowers in an average of 19 loans per year at more than 200% annual interest Important FDIC consumer protections repealed WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, four banking regulators jointly issued new small dollar lending guidance that lacks the explicit consumer protections it should have. At the same time, it does require that...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800), the latest legislative response to the unprecedented COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington issued the following statement: The HEROES Act shows strong promise and addresses important needs of low-wealth families impacted by...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), yesterday released the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800), the latest legislative response to the unprecedented COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington issued the following statement: The HEROES Act would help prevent families from losing...

“A majority of Americans across all regions of the U.S. support permanently reducing student loan debt by $20,000 for all borrowers.” WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) released a bipartisan poll today showing that Americans around the country and across partisan identities strongly support student debt reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a small business package that the U.S. Senate approved by unanimous consent earlier this week. The bill aims to replenish funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the loan program designed to help struggling small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 crisis. In the bill, lawmakers agreed to appropriate $310 billion...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate passed a deal today to replenish funding for the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP), the loan program designed to help small businesses slammed by the coronavirus crisis. Lawmakers agreed to send an additional $310 billion to the PPP, which ran out of its initial funding capacity last week. Like the initial PPP funding, most of...

Move Puts Communities of Color, Low- and Moderate-Income Families, and Rural Communities at Risk WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) yesterday issued a final rule that exempts more than 1,700 additional financial companies from reporting Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data about their lending. HMDA was enacted to combat lending discrimination by requiring companies to report public...