Press Releases

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...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today published its new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Appraisal-Level Public Use File (PUF) on mortgage loans sold to the Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. FHFA said the dataset can be used to, among other things, study housing valuation, housing market disparities and inequities, and consumer preferences...

New policy briefs from CRL and NCLC recommend protections to shield consumers from abusive fintech cash advances WASHINGTON – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) released an issue brief, “ State Recommendations for Earned Wage Advances and Other Fintech Cash Advances.” “Fintech cash advances are credit and...

DURHAM, NC - North Carolinians involved in the criminal justice system are assessed financial obligations that can add up to thousands of dollars—and most are poor and cannot pay them. The practice of converting these fines and fees to civil judgments has become increasingly common in the state, finds a report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending, Forward...