Press Releases

A lawsuit filed yesterday by 17 states and the District of Columbia accuses Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of illegally delaying enforcement of a rule designed to eliminate federal education funding from low-performing career college programs. The rule known as gainful employment was adopted by the previous administration in response to widespread concerns over the quality of instruction at these institutions. In recent years, a series of lawsuits brought by states and federal agencies challenged whether taxpayer-funded educational assistance was reaped a fair return. The rule known as

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual Student Loan Ombudsman Report. Over the past year, the Bureau received nearly 23,000 complaints involving private student loans, federal student loan servicing and related debt collections. Additionally, the report recounts in detail how borrowers of all ages are experiencing difficulties accessing consumer protections authorized by existing laws and regulation. In response to the report, Whitney Barkley-Denney, a policy counsel and student loan specialist with the Center for Responsible Lending made

Rule is Key First Step to Stopping the Debt Trap WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, national consumer and civil rights advocates welcomed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new rule to limit short-term payday and car-title lenders’ ability to trap borrowers in an endless cycle of debt. The payday lending rule will result in fewer families falling into financial ruin. At the heart of the rule is the common sense principle that lenders check a borrower’s ability to repay before lending money. While praising the CFPB for pushing to stop the debt trap, the coalition calls on the Bureau to

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Center for Responsible Lending, Americans for Financial Reform, People’s Action, and representatives of the Stop the Debt Trap campaign, hosted a press teleconference with reporters to discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new rule to limit short-term payday and car-title lenders’ ability to trap borrowers in an endless cycle of debt. The payday lending rule will result in fewer families falling into financial ruin. At the heart of the rule is the common sense principle that lenders check a borrower’s ability to repay before lending money. While

AB 1636 will boost transparency of payday lenders across state OAKLAND, CALIF. – California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law AB 1636, a bill introduced by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) that aims to give the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) the tools it needs to increase transparency of payday lenders. Under California law, payday lenders can charge rates as high as 460% annual percentage rate. The new law will strengthen DBO’s ability to regulate and review lenders’ business reports, including granting the agency authority to issue penalties on

WASHINGTON, DC. - A new analysis of 2016 mortgage lending data by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) again finds a continued lack of access to conventional loans among consumers of color and low-wealth families, but that the mortgage market has rebounded slightly from the foreclosure crisis and Great Recession. Enacted by Congress in 1975, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires an annual public accounting of the nation’s mortgage lending. Its data provides critical information for both the public and financial sectors by alerting the nation to trends on the groups of Americans

Wells Fargo Practices and Equifax Breach Show that Congress needs to prioritize consumer protections Members call on CFPB to act on overdraft practices Maloney bill to end deceptive overdraft practices, crack down on unfair fees based on successful 2009 CARD Act law that has saved consumers billions WASHINGTON, DC — Today in front of the U.S. Capitol, the Center for Responsible Lending joined Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), and Bill Foster (IL-11) in calling on Congress to crackdown on unfair overdraft fees by passing H.R. 3606, the

News Report Indicates Senate Might Vote Imminently to Take Away Consumers’ Right to Sue Financial Companies for Wrongdoing WASHINGTON, D.C. – As reported by Politico, the “Senate GOP leadership is considering holding a vote later this week on legislation that would block a CFPB [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] rule prohibiting banks and credit card companies from forcing their customers into arbitration during disputes, sources familiar with the matter said." Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Senior Policy Counsel Melissa Stegman issued the following statement: Equifax, Wells Fargo

WASHINGTON, DC. - Today and as part of the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 47 th Annual Legislative Conference, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) will convene a panel of housing stakeholders this afternoon. The session entitled, “ State of Housing in Black America: Considering the Future,” will examine mortgage industry practices, and whether the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 2010, created barriers for African-Americans seeking homeownership opportunities. Nikitra Bailey, an executive vice president with the Center

Senate and House Legislation would end the payday lending debt trap WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), and nearly 40 national and state organizations sent a letter urging Members of Congress to pass the Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act, a bicameral bill introduced by U.S. Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright (D-Penn.) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). The bill would protect consumers from predatory lenders by capping payday and car-title loans at