Press Releases

Investigation uncovered that white borrowers with weaker credit profiles received less expensive financing and more favorable treatment than their non-white counterparts who were more financially qualified. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) released an investigative report detailing the ongoing racially discriminatory practices that exist in the auto lending market. In their findings, NFHA uncovered that more than half the time white borrowers with weaker credit profiles received less expensive financing options and more favorable treatment than their non

Proposed Changes In Housing Finance Reform Could Reduce the Ability of Community Banks and Credit Unions to Provide Mortgage Credit WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Brookings Institution’s Center on Regulation and Markets published a report by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) on the state of the rural housing market. While almost a quarter of Americans live in rural communities, they are often overlooked in policy discussions. The CRL report analyzes the most recent Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data and reviews aspects of proposed changes to the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leading civil and human rights organizations and housing policy advocates wrote in a letter today that both the U.S. Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees to demand that stakeholders—now excluded from current Congressional discussion on reforming the nation’s housing finance system—be expanded to include all voices and perspectives. Organizations seeking to advise the congressional committees are: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, Center for Responsible Lending, National

Bill to dismantle higher education opportunity passes committee after late night vote and without bipartisan support WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, shortly after midnight, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the PROSPER Act, a bill to eliminate important programs and safeguards that make higher education accessible and affordable for low-income students. The bill was approved without bipartisan support after a daylong debate and markup procedure where Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and other sponsors of the legislation summarily denied nearly all 40 amendments submitted by

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion calling for a comprehensive approach to protect consumers from the severe harms of predatory high-cost installment loans. The motion, which was introduced by LA County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl, instructs several of the Los Angeles County agencies, including the Department of Business and Consumer Affairs, Department of Regional Planning, and County Treasurer and Tax Collector to identify outreach and regulatory approaches to protect residents from harmful financial products. The agencies

DURHAM, NC — Ignoring the voices of families and communities who have worked for many years for relief from the harms of predatory payday lending, a handful of members of Congress have introduced legislation that would nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (Consumer Bureau) national rule to rein in payday lending abuses. Their legislation uses Congressional Review Act authority to repeal the rule and prevent the Consumer Bureau from issuing a similar rule in the future, giving payday and car title lenders a free pass. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and

Interactive Map and Fact Sheets Break Down Numbers DURHAM, N.C. – The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released, “ The State of For-Profit Colleges” today, featuring an interactive map that enumerates for-profit colleges by state and fact sheets that indicate, in most states, the disproportionate harms on low-income families, communities of color and women. With certain exceptions, the scroll-over map shows for each state: Total undergraduate enrollment at all higher education institutions, Total undergraduate enrollment at all for-profit colleges, and The three largest for-profit colleges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Government Accountability Office (GAO) letter released earlier this week in response to a Congressional inquiry threatens to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (Consumer Bureau) 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. In the letter, the GAO concludes that the auto lending guidance is a Consumer Bureau “rule” and can be repealed through a Congressional Review Act (CRA). The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has been a staunch

Agency’s Independence Is Necessary to Its Mission, Groups Say WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) independence from external political influence is crucial to the agency’s mission of protecting consumers, 10 groups told a court today in an amicus brief (PDF) filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The groups are Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Action, National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), National Consumers League, National Fair

Mulvaney’s Call for Congress to Rescind Basic Borrower Protection Shows He Sides with Loan Sharks Over Consumers WASHINGTON, DC – OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, who is unlawfully behaving as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), last night voiced support for a Congressional Review Act to repeal the Consumer Bureau rule on payday and car-title loan debt traps. Center for Responsible Lending Director of Federal Advocacy Scott Astrada issued the following statement: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established to prevent Americans from losing their money and