Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released a student loan debt relief formula that undercuts defrauded borrowers, particularly those who went to ITT Tech and Corinthian Colleges. The flawed and convoluted methodology, which will be applied to the more than 200,000 outstanding claims pending review by the department, seeks to make it difficult for students to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that the University of Phoenix, owned by Apollo Education Group, must pay $191 million to settle federal charges that it used false advertisement to lure its students with job placement promises at major U.S. corporations. The FTC said it was the largest settlement ever reached against a for-profit school. Whitney...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan agreement to permanently reauthorize $255 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The agreement amends the FUTURE Act, a bill that passed the House in September. The proposal also includes the FAFSA Act, a measure that...

OCC Proposes Rent-a-Bank Rule Today; Proposed Rule is on Agenda for FDIC Meeting on Nov. 19 Washington, D.C. - Advocates reacted with outrage to a new proposal from two federal bank regulators that could make it easier for payday and other high-cost lenders to use banks as a fig leaf so that online lenders can offer predatory loans at interest...

New legislation would protect people from the financial quicksand of high-interest loans First bill to extend Military Lending Act’s rate cap protection to all Americans Learn more about this map, showing the APR of a typical payday loan in those states without strong interest rate caps. For instance, in Illinois it is 404% and in Wisconsin 574%. WASHINGTON, D.C. –...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A coalition of 61 consumer, civil rights, and community groups today sent letters to three federal bank regulators urging them not to allow their banks to help payday lenders evade state interest rate limits. The groups sent separate letters to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which regulates the only banks currently involved in rent-a-bank schemes; the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, the U.S. Department of Education released the final version of federal regulations for accreditation and state authorization for online institutions. Set to take effect in July 2020, the new rules would lead to a spiraling decline in the quality of the nation’s higher education system, costly and fruitless expenditures of student time and money, and a cost...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced today that his agency reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on the use of the False Claims Act for Federal Housing Administration single family loans. Center for Responsible Lending President Mike Calhoun made the following statement: CRL applauds HUD and the...

Continuing state action will hasten fair practices across the industry DURHAM, N.C. – A new wave of state legislation passed in 2019 continues the trend of states addressing abuses in the student loan servicing industry, according to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) titled, Stepping Up: States Move to Hold Student Loan Servicers Accountable. The analysis notes...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court said today that it will take up  Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a case attempting to undermine the independence of the nation’s consumer protection watchdog.  Seila Law LCC is pushing the Supreme Court to give President Trump influence and control over how the CFPB oversees the financial services industry. Specifically...