Press Releases

DURHAM, N.C. – Last week, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced a settlement with Think Finance LLC, a fintech company that had engaged in multi-party schemes to make loans with interest rates of up to 448% in Pennsylvania in violation of the state’s interest rate cap. Under the terms, Think Finance and its investor Victory Park Capital must void outstanding...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress plans to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA), a new coalition has formed to advocate for needed federal investments and protections in order to promote more equitable outcomes within our higher education system. The College Affordability Coalition, a group of 25 organizations representing the voices of students and families, consumers, institutions, and civil rights groups...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), co-authored a research report finding that student loan debt is unsustainable for many student borrowers, especially borrowers of color. The research paper, titled Quicksand: Borrowers Of Color & The Student Debt Crisis, offers policy recommendations to reform our country’s...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, two years after the massive Equifax data breach, the credit monitoring agency has agreed to a settlement of up to $700 million. The agreement includes at least $400 million in consumer relief, $175 million to states, and $100 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in civil penalties. CRL Director of State Policy and Executive Vice...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released A Smarter Qualified Mortgage Can Benefit Borrowers, Taxpayers, and the Economy, a report urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to take timely steps to ensure widespread access to safe and sustainable loans. Unless the CFPB revises its mortgage rule under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), and National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) late yesterday submitted a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Executive Vice President Debbie Goldstein released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced her decision to rescind the agency’s Gainful Employment Rule: Betsy DeVos’ decision to eliminate this important education protection is a disservice to the public and only serves to put corporate interests...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. House Representatives Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of (PROTECT) Students Act of 2019, a bill to protect higher education students by improving oversight and accountability of predatory institutions, including for-profit colleges and universities. This legislation is a House version of the...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its annual report, The State of the Nation’s Housing 2019. (PDF) Published annually since 1988, this year’s report again identifies recent trends and issues facing the housing industry. Key to this year’s findings are: In 2019, the cost of a median-priced home rose by 4% to $261,600...

WASHINGTON, DC – Over two dozen faith leaders from around the country and two former borrowers met with the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Kathy Kraninger, today at CFPB headquarters in Washington. The group asked Director Kraninger to give great consideration to the people harmed by payday lending, as a CFPB proposal threatens to gut landmark reform...