Press Releases

Download Survey Findings U.S consumers overwhelmingly want to be asked their preference before a bank or credit union enrolls them in a program to cover debit card purchases when they do not have the funds, a new Center for Responsible Lending survey finds. Financial institutions typically enroll their customers in a system that covers debit card overdrafts and then assesses...

Statement of Mike Calhoun, President, Center for Responsible Lending The Center for Responsible Lending commends Bank of America for its decision to stop charging overdraft fees on debit card purchases. With this change, Bank of America—which issues more debit cards than any other bank— joins another banking giant, Citibank, in practicing responsible debit card overdraft policies. Most other large banks...

Center for Responsible Lending's president, Michael Calhoun, on the House approval of H.R. 1106, which makes court relief on mortgages available for financially distressed homeowners: "We applaud lawmakers in the House for passing legislation that is a crucial piece of the broader White House plan to stem foreclosures. With another family facing foreclosure every 13 seconds, the need to put...

Measure would end abusive 400% interest Washington - A measure introduced in the U.S. Senate yesterday would speed economic recovery efforts by ending high-interest credit schemes that trap working families in a quagmire of debt. The bill from Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), majority whip of the Senate, would cap annual interest rates on consumer credit at 36 percent-a cap that...

More analysis of the Housing Plan >> The housing plan announced today represents a huge step forward for the entire country, and includes responsible and effective actions to reduce the massive foreclosures that triggered today's economic crisis. It represents an essential and overdue investment in correcting the results of bad lending and poor risk management. And it will benefit households...

We will not effectively stabilize the nation's banks and financial system until we stop the wave of foreclosures that continues to drive down the economy and harm millions of families. At least 8 million families risk losing their homes to foreclosure in the next four years. These foreclosures drive down the value of all homes, and in turn prevent a...

No one likes overdraft fees: Who wants to pay $34 for a $5 hamburger? The public has until a March 30 deadline to tell banking regulators at the Federal Reserve Board whether a) banks should be required to let customers "opt in" to these high-cost lending programs or b) be allowed to continue automatically signing them up? Only the first...

The foreclosure epidemic that ignited today's economic crisis continues unabated, as illustrated by new up-to-the-second figures released by the Center for Responsible Lending. CRL's website, http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/tools-resources/nati… , now displays a constantly updated counter showing new foreclosure starts this year for the nation and also by state. The counter is based on data collected by the Mortgage Bankers Association and adjusted...

The federal Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) has failed in its responsibility to oversee the nation's thrift institutions and protect the public from reckless lending practices, according to a new report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending. Read The Second S&L Scandal: How OTS allowed reckless and unfair lending to fleece homeowners and cripple the nation's savings and...

The subprime market for home loans has dried up for now, but the bad subprime loans made at the height of the mortgage bubble continue to damage neighborhoods and drown the economy in foreclosures. New information in a Center for Responsible Lending report provides a fresh, grim snapshot of the spreading negative effects of subprime mortgages that were aggressively marketed...