Press Releases

PHEAA Should Drop the Lawsuit; DOE Should Respect State’s Rights to Address Historically Problematic Practices WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), one of the nation's largest student loan servicers, is suing the state of Connecticut in order to circumvent a 2015 law to protect student loan borrowers in the state from negligent and predatory servicing practices. Last year, PHEAA was sued by the state of Massachusetts for allegedly overcharging student borrowers and failing to put them into the income-based repayment plans, mismanaging the

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Wednesday, April 4, leaders of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) are in Memphis, Tenn., to participate in events honoring the 50th anniversaries of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the enactment of the Fair Housing Act. The Memphis-based activities will begin a month-long series of CRL publicly appearing with allies and advocates to observe Fair Housing Month. Additional events will be shared as confirmed. Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - Memphis, Tenn. WHAT: The Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) and its co-sponsors the American Federation of State

SB 818 would renew mortgage and foreclosure protections, such as the right to appeal when a loan modification application is denied. SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – The California Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee has voted to pass SB 818, a bill to restore key provisions in California’s landmark “Homeowner’s Bill of Rights” (HBOR) legislation which passed in 2012 in response to the foreclosure crisis. HBOR has prevented thousands of avoidable foreclosures by requiring mortgage loan servicers to engage in timely, fair and transparent process with struggling homeowners before proceeding

AB 2500 Received Seven Votes Out of Committee With No Opposition SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - The California Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance has voted to pass AB 2500, the Safe Consumer Lending Act. The bill, brought forward by Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s (D-San Jose), and principal co-authors Senator Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) and Senator Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles), would protect California families from abusive high-cost installment loans, including those made by car title lenders. The legislation would drastically reduce the costs of consumer loans between $2,500 to $5,000. The

His proposed changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would politicize the agency and "make consumer protection dependent on Congress and the White House standing up to the financial industry." WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Mick Mulvaney, the unlawfully appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, issued a report with recommendations that would dramatically diminish the agency’s independence. As reported by Politico, Mulvaney would like “funding the Bureau through congressional appropriations; requiring legislative approval of ‘major’ bureau rules; explicitly

Bill to stop predatory lending is set for committee vote on Monday, April 2. OAKLAND, CALIF. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), African American Methodist Episcopal Church - 5th Episcopal District, Asian Law Alliance, Coalition for Humane and Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), UnidosUS, and Western Center on Poverty, with support from 99 California consumer, faith, and civil rights organizations, and cities throughout the state are urging the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance, to support AB 2500, the Safe Consumer Lending Act. The bill would protect California families from abusive

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, S.J. Res 57, which would undo the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 2013 indirect auto lending guidance. This important guidance is a key step to limit discriminatory impact of dealer interest rate markups in the auto lending industry. The resolution has 15 Republican cosponsors. The announcement to eliminate this important consumer protection comes off the heels of a recent investigative report released by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) detailing the ongoing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, S.J. Res. 56, which would repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule to stop payday and car title loan debt traps and prevent the CFPB from ever issuing a similar rule. The CFPB rule, finalized in October, established basic consumer protections, including the commonsense standard that lenders should have to verify a borrower’s ability to repay before making the loan. Center for Responsible Lending Federal Advocacy Director Scott Astrada issued the following

Trump’s Pick at Consumer Bureau Will Not Pursue Abusive Payday Loan Debt Collector, Might Do Same for Three Other Payday Lending Companies WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reuters published a report, " Exclusive: Trump official quietly drops payday loan case, mulls others – sources," that provides additional evidence that Trump's unlawfully appointed Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney is giving predatory payday lenders a free pass. Specifically, National Credit Adjusters, a debt collector for payday loan companies, confirmed that a pending case against the

OAKLAND, CALIF. – Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the Washington Student Education Loan Bill of Rights into law yesterday, which will provide strong protections for the more than 730,000 student loan borrowers in the state carrying $22.9 billion in student loan debt. The law will establish a Student Loan Advocate to review complaints, and will authorize the state to license student loan servicers so they can ensure compliance with state and federal requirements and prevent mistreatment such as misappropriating payments or making false reports to credit bureaus. "We commend Governor