Press Releases

Impact felt most by lower wealth families and families of color WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its final rule on capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) that FHFA oversees and that provide financial backing for half of all mortgages in America. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey released the following statement: During the Financial Crisis, taxpayers stepped in to save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs were rescued and receive ongoing

Washington, D.C. — Today, over 235 organizations sent a 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, 238 nonprofit and community organizations highlight that cancelling student debt would stimulate the economy, help reduce the racial wealth gap, 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 million borrowers and the

DURHAM, N.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending released a report outlining higher education policy recommendations that states should enact to avoid repeating the unequal recovery of 2010, as our nation deals with the dual crises of an out-of-control pandemic and the resulting economic collapse. The CRL report, “ System Reboot: Challenges & Opportunities at the State Level for Higher Education During COVID-19 & Beyond,” recommends states take steps in the following areas to protect students most impacted by disruptions to their college education and the burdens of unmanageable debt

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, it was announced that Joseph Biden will be the 46th President of the United States along with Kamala Harris as his Vice President. Center for Responsible Lending President Mike Calhoun released the following statement: The COVID-19 economic collapse has left the finances of many families in tatters, especially in Black and Brown communities, which have been hit the hardest by the crisis. The situation is dire, making quick enactment of long-overdue relief measures vitally important. To prevent mass foreclosures, evictions, bankruptcies, and other financial

DURHAM, N.C. – Nebraskans voted for Initiative 428 to stop triple-digit predatory lending by reducing annual interest rates from an average of over 400% to 36%. The initiative passed by an overwhelming majority of 83% of the vote. Nebraska joins Colorado (2018) and South Dakota (2016) in enacting this reform through a citizen’s initiative in recent years. Payday loans carry an average of 400% interest rates and are designed to create a long-term cycle of debt. The average borrower ends up with 10 loans per year and payday lenders derive 75% of their fees from borrowers who end up with more

One-Third of U.S. Adults with a Credit Report Have Debt in Collection Washington, D.C. – The National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low income clients, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, and the National Association of Consumer Advocates, expressed relief that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final debt collection rule drops or punts on some of the most harmful parts of its proposal, but advocates still opposed the high call cap that will permit telephone harassment and noted with concern that the

CFPB Repeal Rule Will Leave Consumers at the Mercy of Payday Lenders’ Abuses WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB), represented by Public Citizen and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), sued the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to overturn a regulation issued in July 2020 concerning short-term payday and auto-title lending ( a link to the complaint is here). The regulation repeals consumer protection measures that the agency adopted in 2017 to protect

Bank regulator’s rule would facilitate triple-digit interest rate loans that violate state rate cap laws WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) yesterday issued a so-called "true lender" rule that would facilitate "rent-a-bank" schemes where a non-bank lender forms a superficial partnership with a bank in order to charge interest rates beyond what state laws allow non-banks to charge. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Director of State Policy Lisa Stifler issued the following statement: This new rule creates an avenue that would facilitate fraudulent "rent-a

OCC Overhaul of an Anti-redlining Law Will Perversely Encourage Redlining Washington, D.C. – A harmful new rule for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) – an anti-redlining law – remains in place after the U.S. Senate yesterday voted against H.J. Res. 90, legislation that would have rescinded the regulation. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized the rule earlier this year. Center for Responsible Lending Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey issued the following statement: Redlining is not a thing of the past and continues to be very real for the 41% and 32% of Black

Especially Given National Reckoning on Racial Injustice and the Economic Crisis, FHFA Must Do More to Fulfill Affordable Housing Mission Washington, D.C. – As low-income homeowners struggle with bills and as millions of mortgage-ready people of color are excluded from sustainable homeownership, several leading civil rights, consumer, and housing groups yesterday submitted an official comment letter that calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to take action now to expand access to responsible home loans, including by setting more robust affordable housing goals. The affordable