Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act introduced by Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) and Representative Mark Walker (R-NC). The FUTURE Act extends important mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) set to expire at the end of this month. The Senate companion bill, introduced by Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), Sen. Tim

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger joined the Trump Administration in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to give the president more influence and control over the CFPB, the agency that regulates the financial services industry. Kraninger and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly asked the Court to consider an appeal that would allow the president to remove the CFPB director at-will instead of for-cause. Since its creation, the CFPB has operated as an independent agency, free of political influence or interference. In joining DOJ in

"Survey also reveals that one in five Americans have been contacted by a debt collector in the past twelve months, including higher numbers in communities of color, among lower-income people, and military families." WASHINGTON, D.C. - Strong majorities across parties oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) proposed debt collection rule including medical debt, according to a new poll released by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The poll was conducted by the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Ashley Harrington testified before the full House Financial Services Committee for hearing entitled A $1.5 Trillion Crisis: Protecting Student Borrowers and Holding Student Loan Servicers Accountable. In her remarks, Harrington discussed the need to rein in the abusive practices of the student loan servicing industry and urged members of the committee to pass reforms that allow student borrowers easy access to affordable repayment plans. View Harrington’s full written testimony for the record. “Student loan

CFPB finalizes policy that gives companies a private channel to seek approvals of untested new products and a promise that the CFPB will not take action for consumer protection law violations WASHINGTON D.C. — Consumer advocates criticized today’s announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it has finalized policies to give banks, fintech companies, and other corporations no-action letters and approvals that will protect companies from enforcement and deem potentially risky new products and services to be in compliance with the law. “The new ‘compliance assurance sandbox’

WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, in response to a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Housing Finance Reform, the U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development released recommendations for reform of the nation’s housing finance system. The National Urban League, Center for Responsible Lending, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Fair Housing Alliance, UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza), National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the NAACP Legal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced her new Borrower Defense to Repayment rule. These final rules will severely weaken accountability for for-profit colleges and prevent defrauded students from accessing relief. The new rules arrive more than a year after DeVos’ decision to rescind the Obama Administration’s Borrower Defense to Repayment rule, which provided a viable pathway for students to obtain relief and institutions to be held accountable. Among its many changes, the Department’s new regulations place an extremely high bar in front of

Navient Claims It Doesn’t Have to Follow State Laws WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), the Pennsylvania SeniorLAW Center, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, New Jersey Citizen Action, and the Community Legal Services of Philadelphia filed an amicus brief today in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s lawsuit against Navient Corporation, one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers. The brief focused on the impact of improper student loan

OAKLAND, CALIF. – Two annual reports released this month by the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) reveal that predatory lenders are still reaping millions of dollars by trapping Californians in unaffordable debt. The DBO reports focus on payday and installment lender activity data from 2018. Lending data shows that the majority--55 percent--of loans being made in the $2,500 to $4,999 range, carry an annual percentage rate (APR) of 100 percent or more. Loans over $2,500 are currently not subject to an interest rate cap. In 2018, DBO settled with Advance America, Check Into Cash

Policies Should Prioritize Quality and Accountability, Not Allow Unmanageable Debt to Weigh Down Families and NC Economy DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – In a comprehensive analysis of North Carolina-specific data, a Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) report released today paints a picture of a deepening student debt crisis that is distressing many communities, delaying home purchases and the creation of small businesses, and diverting dollars away from the local economy. North Carolina’s Student Debt: Dimensions of a Crisis finds that North Carolinians are burdened with increasing—unmanageable