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 get relief. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Ashley Harrington released the following statement: Once again, Secretary DeVos has demonstrated that her goal is to protect predatory

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 Barkley-Denney, a senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), released the following statement: University of Phoenix used billions of taxpayer dollars to create an ad campaign based almost

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 makes it simpler for the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to share student tax data. This would help streamline the financial aid

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 rates that are prohibited under state law. Online lenders have become increasingly bold in using rent-a-bank schemes to offer loans up to 160% in states where their rates are illegal. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed such a

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. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) announced support for the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act, which is being introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) and Glenn

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 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates a national bank that has been in talks with a payday lender; and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, whose banks so far do not appear to

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 of up to $3.8 billion to U.S. taxpayers. The Department’s final rule does not reflect the consensus reached during the negotiated rulemaking earlier this year. "By weakening the accreditation system, the Department

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 DOJ for working together and signing a memorandum of understanding addressing how the agencies will confer on False Claims Act prosecutions. CRL also supports FHA’s efforts to revise the annual lender and loan

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 that, since 2015, thirteen states have passed reforms to address the practices of companies that provide the crucial link between student borrowers and successful repayment of their loans. Those states include

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, the lawsuit contends that the structure of the CFPB is unconstitutional because it only allows the President to remove the CFPB Director for-cause. Congress, however, established the independent CFPB to