Press Releases

Payday lenders strip $50 million per year from Colorado economy DENVER, CO – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released a report today showing that payday lenders charge Coloradans an average of $119 in fees and interest to borrow $392, with an average annual percentage rate (APR) of 129%. This practice strips $50 million per year from low-income Coloradans. The...

Assemblymember Kalra's AB 2500 provides pragmatic solution to curb abusive high-cost loans SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and city leaders from across the state applauded California Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s (D-San Jose) introduction of AB 2500, the Safe Consumer Lending Act, a bill to protect California families from abusive high-cost installment loans. The legislation would extend...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 3299, the so called “Madden fix” bill which would preempt state interest rate caps and open the flood gates to online predatory lending of 300% APR and higher loans. The bill passed despite opposition from consumer advocates. Several Members of Congress took to the floor to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 3299, the so called “Madden fix” bill which would preempt state interest rate caps and open the flood gates to online predatory lending of 300% APR and higher loans. The bill passed despite not having support from consumer advocates. Several Members of Congress took to the floor...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Mich.) and Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) introduced the Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act, a bill to crack down on some of the worst abusive practices of the payday lending industry, which strips wealth from working families across the country. The bill, which...

Agency’s Independence Is Necessary to Its Mission, Groups Tell Court Considering Appeal in English v. Trump and Mulvaney WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) independence from external political influence is crucial to the agency’s mission of protecting consumers, ten groups told a court today in an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reuters, citing multiple sources, published an article saying that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), currently led by unlawfully appointed Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, has pulled back on its investigation of Equifax’s massive data breach. Yana Miles, Senior Legislative Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), issued the following statement: If this report is true...

CRL Alarmed by Mick Mulvaney Removing Enforcement Powers from Consumer Bureau’s Fair Lending Office WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) condemned an alarming move by the unlawfully appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney, which will have the practical effect of taking away the ability of the Office of Fair Lending...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, a leaked version of a housing finance proposal from U.S. Senators Bob Corker (TN) and Mark Warner (VA) emerged that would severely harm America’s housing market. Today, several civil rights and affordable housing groups issued a statement on the proposal’s negative impact on access, affordability, and market stability. The Center for Responsible Lending, Lawyers’ Committee...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided in PHH Corporation v. CFPB that the President can only remove the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for cause instead of at will. The decision invalidates a 2016 court panel’s previous and unprecedented 2-1 ruling where two judges agreed that the...