Press Releases

DURHAM, N.C. – Debt collection abuses rank first in the type of complaints filed by Washington State military servicemembers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and second for all consumers in the state. A new Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) report may help explain why. “ Debt by Default: Debt Collection Practices in Washington 2012-2016” found that over 80% of lawsuits filed by debt buyers against consumers are unchallenged in court, meaning the debt buyer wins by default. So people sued by debt buyers are frequently subject to a judgment or garnishment of their wages, without

"Do not rob the poor because they are poor;” participants quote verse as predatory lenders enjoy golf under the Miami sky MIAMI, Fla. – Faith leaders from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri, Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina joined Florida clergy and Miami faithful today at the gates of President Trump’s golf course resort, the Trump National Doral Miami, to bring attention to the harms predatory lending causes financially vulnerable families. Inside the gates, payday lenders were registering for their first day of the annual conference of their national trade association, the CFSA. The

Representatives and Senators Repeatedly Grilled the Director on Proposal that would Keep Consumers Trapped in Debt WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in her second hearing before Congress, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger struggled in explaining why she issued a plan that would gut a rule designed to protect Americans from debt trap payday and car title loans. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Rebecca Borné issued the following statement: Director Kraninger continues to wear blinders, looking only at protecting the profits of exploitative

View the map. Durham, N.C. – Today, Trump-Appointed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger’s plan to gut the payday rule was published in the Federal Register, which starts the clock for public comment on the proposal. To provide context for this action, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is releasing its two-page initial overview and analysis of the proposed repeal and a map showing the typical interest rate for payday loans in states that allow these debt trap products. Center for Responsible Lending Researcher Charla Rios issued the following statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under the direction of Trump-appointed Director Kathy Kraninger, released its plan to roll back the central protections of the agency’s 2017 payday and car-title lending rule. Kraninger’s plan is to eliminate the rule’s underwriting standards — the widely supported heart of the rule – which require lenders to verify a borrower’s ability to repay their loan. This proposed rollback would result in more Americans falling into devastating debt traps. The predatory, payday lending business model relies heavily on a borrower

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, released a proposed outline to reform our nation’s housing finance system. The plan calls to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while also converting the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) single-director structure into a bipartisan board. The Center for Responsible Lending, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Urban League, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, UnidosUS, and National Coalition for Asian Pacific American

Interactive Map and Fact Sheets for Each State Break Down the Numbers DURHAM, N.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released “ The State of For-Profit Colleges” with new data that largely show for-profit college students continue to be less likely to graduate than their counterparts at public or private nonprofit institutions. These student borrowers carry more debt regardless of whether they graduate, and they default on that debt at higher rates, often because a for-profit college degree does not provide the anticipated access to higher-paying jobs. In many states, the

Center For Responsible Lending Calls for Answers on CFPB Settlement That Seems To Let Predatory Lender Off the Hook WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is led by Director Kathy Kraninger, announced a settlement with Mark Corbett, who sold veterans deceptive, high-interest loans. While under the settlement Mark Corbett will not continue in this line of business, he also received a civil money penalty of a single dollar. This settlement arrives a few days after Director Kraninger announced that the CFPB will not monitor lenders to verify compliance

DURHAM, N.C. – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo included measures within his state budget proposal released today that would address abuses by for-profit colleges (PDF) and student loan servicers. (PDF) Advocates in the state have long pushed for these protections in light of the significant harms and costs to students and their families caused by abusive practices. Center for Responsible Lending Deputy Director of State Policy Lisa Stifler issued the following statement: We applaud Governor Cuomo for proposing strong measures to rein in abuses by for-profit colleges, which often saddle New

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tomorrow, the partial government shutdown over funding of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border will become the longest shutdown in U.S. history— causing financial hardship for many of the roughly 800,000 federal employees who have been furloughed or working without pay since December 21, 2018. According to a recent online report, unpaid federal workers already owe as much as $438 million in mortgage and rent payments this month. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) believes it is unjust and unfair for federal employees and contractors to be deprived of their paychecks and