Press Releases

High costs, low graduation rates, and complaints trigger CRL analysis As higher education costs continue to rise, new research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) analyzes the debts and outcomes resulting from a wide-ranging choice of institutions – both public and private nonprofits and for-profit colleges located in North Carolina. NC Student Loan Calculus found that choices in higher...

Google, a leading global search engine, today announced that it would no longer accept advertising for payday loans. Terming the development as an ‘update to its financial services policy', the decision will end many of its prominent online ads. Until now, these ads appeared even in states that have banned payday lending's triple-digit interest rates. Google's action also precedes a...

Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposed rule that will limit the financial industry’s use of forced arbitration, a practice used to block consumers from enforcing their legal rights. In response, Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement: This proposed rule is another key development in bringing transparency and fairness...

A new survey finds that Colorado voters strongly oppose the idea of raising interest rates on consumer loans. Opposition was widespread among voters across lines of race, party affiliation, and household income, but the intensity of opposition was especially strong among voters of color and those who had served in the military. Overall, 51% of voters said they would be...

Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new report that proves how high-cost fees on small-dollar loan create rather than resolve financial challenges for borrowers. An 18-month analysis of loans made by more than 330 payday lenders found that half of all borrowers—nearly 10,000—were charged an average of $185 in bank penalties, hidden costs usually in the form...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today a new loan modification program that will help borrowers stay in their homes. Under the new program, loan modifications will be available to as many as 30,000 qualified underwater borrowers facing financial hardship with loans now held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Eligibility also requires that the mortgages have an unpaid...

Center for Responsible Lending, and Groups Nationwide Tell CFPB: Beware Same Old Predators in Different Clothing The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to rein in the worst abuses of traditional, two-week payday lending schemes must not leave the door open to longer-term loan products that are similarly predatory debt-traps by design, nearly 150 consumer advocacy and civil rights groups representing...

Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs convened a hearing to assess the effects of Consumer Finance Regulation. Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) offered comments for the committee's record and issued the following statement. In a display of legislative wisdom, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with its enactment...

Study confirms urgent need to curtail debt-collection abuses Washington, DC – New research from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) shows that strong debt-collection reforms do not restrict credit availability. Despite claims from the debt-collection industry, CRL analysis of data from North Carolina and Maryland – two states with recent debt-collection reforms – establishes that there was no sign of...

Latinos, Blacks and Seniors Targeted for High-Cost Loans Floridians have paid more than $2.5 billion in fees on high-cost payday loans over the last decade, according to new research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Further, in the most recent reported one-year period, June 2014 through May 2015, over $311 million in fees was paid on loans averaging nearly...