Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Seth Frotman, the Assistant Director and Student Loan Ombudsman with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) resigned after seven years of government service with the agency. His resignation is effective September 1, 2018. In response, Ashley Harrington, a policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending Counsel released the following statement: It is unfortunate for the...

As Chair of FDIC considers policy, broad coalition urges regulators and banks to avoid toxic loans that trap consumers in debt WASHINGTON, D.C. – The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Jelena McWilliams, is “reviewing whether to rescind guidelines for ‘deposit advance’ loans,” according to an interview she had with the Wall Street Journal. “Deposit advance” is a...

New research from Center for Responsible Lending reveals disproportionate concentration of payday lenders in Michigan rural and low-income neighborhoods and communities of color DURHAM, N.C. -- Payday lenders have targeted vulnerable Michigan communities, disproportionately locating their stores in communities of color, rural areas, and low-income neighborhoods, according to a new report from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Through a...

49 Senators Urge CFPB Head Mick Mulvaney to Reverse His Plan to Weaken Protections for Servicemembers WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, nearly half the Senate, including Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (R.I.), Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (Ohio), and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), wrote the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging it to reverse course on...

OAKLAND, CALIF. – Today, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in De La Torre v. CashCall, that high-interest rates on loans above $2,500 may be deemed unconscionable, and therefore illegal—even if those loans aren’t subject to statutory rate limits. The case involved plaintiff Eduardo De La Torre, a former student at the University of California Davis...

News arrives just days after CFPB found to be ending supervision of companies to ensure they’re not illegally overcharging military servicemembers WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, NPR reported that the White House is advocating for changes that would make it easier for auto dealers to fleece active duty military servicemembers. Specifically, the White House plan would let auto dealers pressure military...

BREAKING: Illegally Overcharging Military Servicemembers to be Easier As CFPB to Stop Supervision of Lenders Center for Responsible Lending raises alarm that military families may be re-exposed to predatory lenders because of another move by Mick Mulvaney WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, the New York Times reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will no longer supervise financial institutions...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced her plan to repeal the Gainful Employment (GE) rule which would hold career education institutions, especially for-profit colleges, accountable for their costs and actual student outcomes. The GE rule, which went into effect in 2014, was based on the simple, practical premise that a program should enable its...

Banks engage in unfair practices to drive up overdraft fees WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released Unfair Market: The State of High-Cost Overdraft Practices in 2017, a report analyzing the overdraft fee revenue generated by banks and the overdraft practices of the 10 largest banks across the United States. According to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation...

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, U.S. Senators Corey Booker (D-N.J.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced the Stop Overdraft Profiteering Act to crack down on unfair overdraft fees. The bill would establish reasonable safeguards for checking account holders; restore transparency to the checking account market; and ultimately encourage banks to expand responsible small dollar loan offerings rather than perpetuate harmful overdraft fee...