Press Releases

CHICAGO – Tomorrow morning, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the appeal of a fair lending enforcement action brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against Chicago mortgage lender Townstone Financial. The appealed decision upends 50 years of fair lending law, concluding that lenders are free to discourage minority consumers from seeking credit without...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House today passed a resolution, S.J.Res. 32, under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Section 1071 rule of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires financial institutions to collect and report data on credit applications to the Bureau and the public. President Biden has indicated that he would veto the...

Earned Wage Advances Should Comply with State Interest Rate Limits Now, Not in Four Years SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) should restore cost limits for earned wage advances and other fintech cash advances under proposed regulations rather than allow a temporary registration regime with no cost limits for up to four years, the Center...

WASHINGTON – Late Friday, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs called on mortgage servicers to pause foreclosures until May 31, 2024. This pause will give VA borrowers a much-needed opportunity to access the upcoming VA Servicing Purchase (VASP) program. Through VASP, the agency will modify and purchase qualifying loans in default to provide meaningful payment assistance to VA borrowers in...

WASHINGTON - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week assessed more than $25 million in redress and penalties against Citibank, N.A., the third-largest bank in the U.S., for illegal discrimination. The CFPB found that Citi, with assets of more than $1.7 trillion as of June 2023, purposefully discriminated against credit card applicants of Armenian descent, primarily based on the...

Newly published reports on earned wage advances and buy now pay later support the warnings WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should do more to protect consumers from abuse by so-called “fintech” lenders and, at minimum, should not enable that abuse through legislation, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) said yesterday in testimony at a Congressional subcommittee hearing. That message was reinforced...

WASHINGTON, DC - A recent report published by the Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Responsible Lending provides an in-depth analysis of the "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) industry, revealing substantial misunderstandings among consumers and a critical absence of regulatory oversight on a national scale. “BNPL lenders are making it easier for borrowers to use high-cost loans for...

WASHINGTON, DC – Federal banking regulators today passed updates to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), one of the seminal pieces of legislation to address systemic inequities in access to credit. The Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve System and Federal Deposit Insurance System made the revisions to increase transparency and bring the regulatory system in-line with modern banking practices, including...

WASHINGTON, DC – The Biden-Harris Administration today announced final regulations that will enhance oversight and accountability for higher education institutions and strengthen protections for student borrowers. The new rules will go into effect July 1, 2024. In response, Jaylon Herbin, director of federal campaigns at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) made the following statement: We commend the Biden-Harris Administration...

Five Democratic Senators betrayed small business owners Wednesday by voting with Republicans to rescind recently finalized small business lending data rules known as Section 1071, leading consumer advocacy groups said. From Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) President Mike Calhoun: “We strongly oppose the Senate’s CRA bill and urge the House to support the small businesses that power the nation’s economy...