Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, numerous media outlets have reported that President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In response to this development, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington issued the following statement: Commissioner Chopra has long fought for financial markets that are fair for consumers, including student loan borrowers. We are encouraged that the CFPB will now return to its mission of protecting

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Joe Biden last night unveiled an outline of his proposed legislative package for relief from the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. In response, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington made the following statement: President-elect Biden’s plan offers badly needed hope for a country in crisis. The policy proposals would help rescue the finances of many small businesses, renters, and homeowners – disproportionately in Black and brown communities – who are in dire straits. While this plan is

Washington, D.C. — Today, more than 325 organizations sent an updated letter to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, calling on them to use executive authority to cancel federal student debt on day one of their administration. In the letter, more than 325 nonprofit and community organizations highlight that cancelling student debt would stimulate the economy, help reduce racial wealth gaps, and could have a positive impact on health outcomes. The groups write that “executive action is one of the few available tools that could immediately provide a boost to upwards of 44

WASHINGTON D.C. - Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Student Debt Crisis, and Young Invincibles made the following statement on President-Elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan: The absence of a legislative request to cancel student debt heightens the urgent need for President-Elect Biden to cancel student debt administratively. Overwhelming research shows that student debt cancellation would provide dramatic relief particularly in low

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is calling for the immediate removal of Donald J. Trump from the office of the Presidency. Michael D. Calhoun, President of CRL, issued the following statement: In the days since a riotous mob of Trump supporters violently overran police and desecrated the U.S. Capitol, America’s symbol of democracy, the facts undoubtedly leave the president complicit in inciting the mob to stop the constitutionally mandated certification of the Electoral College vote count — inflamed by weeks of repeated

Action Center on Race and the Economy, American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), NAACP, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Student Debt Crisis, and Young Invincibles made the following statement: We welcome the announcement that President-Elect Biden plans to extend the student loan payment pause. However, we encourage him to take immediate executive action on student debt cancellation. We know President-Elect Biden realizes how important student debt relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris’ win early Thursday morning in a joint session of Congress, hours after a historic insurrection by extremists who violently breached the Capitol and disrupted lawmakers’ certification of the Electoral College votes. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey released the following statement: We look forward to working with the new Administration and Congress on a wide range of issues. The historic nature of this moment is not lost on us as the nation will

Washington, D.C. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) strongly condemns the acts of violence seen today at the U.S. Capitol Building during the improper Congressional attempts to overturn the state-certified electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. CRL President Mike Calhoun released the following statement: There should be no place for today’s events in an organized democracy such as ours. We pray for the future of our nation, the safety of our citizens and lawmakers, and the preservation of our democracy. We call for a peaceful transfer of power as

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With just days left in President Trump’s Administration, a federal government agency has been moving forward with a proposal that could essentially force banks to finance payday and predatory installment lenders charging annual interest rates above 100% along with a range of other companies that pose risks to banks and the public. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) yesterday ended its comment period on the proposed rule, officially titled “Fair Access to Financial Services,” which is expected to limit banks’ ability to decide not to serve certain industries

Advocates argue that the OCC letter issued late Friday will not save the OCC rule that facilitates usurious loans with interest rates that are higher than what state laws allow WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several civil rights and consumer groups filed an amicus brief in support of the attorneys general of California, Illinois, and New York in their case against a rule from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that encourages predatory lending through “rent-a-bank” schemes. The OCC’s non-bank interest rate rule facilitates non-bank lenders’ efforts to form superficial partnerships with