Press Releases

Senator Warren's Bank of Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act Provides Important Options for Refinancing Student Loans This week, the Senate will vote on Senator Elizabeth Warren's Bank of Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would allow borrowers to refinance student loans at lower rates. Representatives Miller and Tierney have also introduced a companion bill in the House. The Center for Responsible Lending joins a robust group of education, labor, student, and consumer organizations supporting the bill. In a statement issued today, Senior Policy Counsel Maura Dundon said

Yesterday, President Barack Obama held a White House briefing and signed a Presidential Memorandum calling for new refinancing options, expanding access to income-based repayment, better outreach to distressed borrowers, and more accountability for student loan servicers. Later this week, the Senate is scheduled to vote on Senator Warren's Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would allow borrowers to refinance federal and private student loans at lower rates. Representatives Miller and Tierney have also introduced a companion bill in the House. In a statement issued today

"We must not undermine the progress we have made," says Ken Edwards Today, the House of Representatives will vote on the so-called "Mortgage Choice Act" – a bill that would threaten the safety of home loans and leave consumers vulnerable to excessive fees. These fees, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, would upset the careful balance struck by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in creating the new mortgage rules designed to protect consumers from the irresponsible lending practices that contributed to the recent housing crisis. "It's deeply concerning how quickly we forget

Last month, the Department of Defense issued a report to Congress on the Military Lending Act: Enhancement of Protections on Consumer Credit for Members of the Armed Forces and Their Dependents. In its report, the Department of Defense reviews the regulations that implement the 2007 Military Lending Act, an act to protect servicemembers and their families by capping the cost of credit at 36%. DoD concludes that new, more comprehensive regulations are needed to protect servicemembers from high-cost credit. Today, the the Center for Responsible Lending, the Consumer Federation of America, the

On Friday, May 23, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as the new Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Statement of Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending: In his five year tenure, Major Julián Castro has made a substantial difference for the city of San Antonio. The Mayor has a long record of focusing on affordable housing opportunities as the leader of 7th largest metropolitan region in the country - and his emphasis on urban revitalization, workforce development, and job growth has led to an increase in

Today, the Center for Responsible Lending joins an extensive group of education, student, civil rights, consumer, veterans, and labor groups in calling for strong for-profit college regulations. Yesterday was the last day to file comments on regulation proposed by the Department of Education, called the "gainful employment rule." The gainful employment rule, proposed in March of this year, aims to create standards for trade, career, and for-profit institutions. "Far too many students enroll in for-profit institutions because of high-pressure and deceptive sales tactics, rather than because the

Photo Gallery On May 22, 2014, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), in partnership with other civil and consumer rights advocates, briefed Members of Congress, their legislative staffs, media and members of the public on its research on the auto lending abuses that affect communities of color, low–wealth and the military. The briefing, sponsored by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th/TX), took place in the House Transportation Committee room, at 2 pm. The panel discussion, moderated by Kenneth W. Edwards, CRL's VP for Federal Affairs, and featured presentations by CRL's Chris Kukla, VP

Today, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled, "Legislative Proposals to Improve Transparency and Accountability at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." The hearing will include discussion on eleven bills. Statement of Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending: "In its first two years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) returned hundreds of millions of dollars to families, took enforcement action against abusive and predatory lending, filed suit against auto

On the fifth anniversary of the Credit CARD Act of 2009, consumer advocates applaud the Act's success in saving Americans billions of dollars in predatory and excessive fees. By one estimate, the CARD Act has saved consumers $12.6 billion annually in lower fees and interest charges; a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau identifies nearly $4 billion annual savings in fees alone. Now it is time, advocates urge, to address abusive fees on debit and prepaid cards. "The CARD Act has been hugely successful in banning the biggest unfair credit card gotchas like retroactive

On May 22, 2014, the Center for Responsible Lending, in partnership with other civil and consumer rights advocates, will host a briefing on the auto lending abuses that affect communities of color, low–wealth and the military. The briefing will take place in the House Transportation Committee room, at 2 pm. Few household transactions are as significant, or as large, as the purchase of a family car. Recently, federal regulators have shone a spotlight on potential discrimination in car lending. The discussion will focus especially on the practice of car dealer interest rate markups – where