Press Releases

2.7 million of the mortgages made at the height of the housing bubble have ended in foreclosure and at least another 3.6 million likely will fail in the next few years, a new CRL research report shows. That means the nation is not yet midway through a foreclosure crisis that mires the economy. The report— Lost Ground, 2011—finds that while most people who have lost their homes have been white and in middle- or higher-income brackets, African-American and Latino families have suffered a disproportionate share of losses. The research also shows that differences in income and credit history don't

While protests on Wall Street have the media spotlight these days, there is an even broader, bipartisan majority of Americans who support financial reform and want a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). So it's good that the Senate Banking Committee today approved the nomination of Richard Cordray as Director of the CFPB. Mr. Cordray has a strong track record in dealing with consumer finance issues and is a proven leader. Unfortunately, some Senators have shown they will block the nomination of any CFPB Director unless the Bureau is significantly weakened. In effect, they are

The latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) mortgage report shows a rise in 30-day delinquencies, including an increase in late payments on prime, fixed-rate mortgages. Overall, the picture hasn't changed significantly from first quarter, as one in 11 mortgage holders remains at serious risk of foreclosure (60 days delinquent or more). Serious delinquencies and foreclosure starts continued to show declines, as many loan servicers slow down evictions while correcting problems related to robo-signing and other illegal practices. Even so, more than 5.5 million U.S. homeowners are at some stage

Over 38 million vehicles were financed through an auto dealer last year, with many loaded with abusive lending practices that cost Americans billions of dollars. Auto dealers often steer unsuspecting buyers into overpriced loans, especially when kickbacks from the bank to the dealer are involved. Until now such practices have continued largely unknown to consumers and unregulated, but new consumer protection laws have changed that by giving the FTC new oversight authority. In its new role, the FTC is holding fact-gathering sessions around the country. It will hold its second one, open to the

Last night a majority of House members voted against a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in favor of the flawed lending and weak oversight that sparked our economic meltdown. In doing so, they sided with Wall Street lobbyists and big-money financial firms, and against Americans' wallets and our economic recovery. These lawmakers are clearly out of touch with most Americans, who by a 4 to 1 margin support a single agency to protect consumers from deceptive financial products. The cost of the national economic crisis is already enormous: trillions of dollars in lost

Banks regulators should ban these 365 percent APR products especially for seniors on fixed government income Payday loans made by banks carry sky-high interest rates—an average 365 percent APR—and, though marketed as short-term debt, regularly lead borrowers into long-term debt, new CRL research shows.* For the full report, http://rspnsb.li/nkyx95. The new report, Big Bank Payday Loans, shows that, on average, a bank payday loan is repaid within 10 days, eats up 44 percent of a borrower's next deposit, and often creates the need for a subsequent loan. As a result, borrowers stay in debt an

An overwhelming majority of Americans—Republican, Democratic, and Independent—favor strong, sensible oversight of the financial services industry, including a strong and independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new poll finds. (Read CRL's analysis.) By a 3 to 1 margin Americans want financial firms held accountable and financial reforms to take effect as soon as possible. And they want the CFPB—created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010—to be up and running as planned, not diluted by industry's current attempts to weaken its funding and

When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially opens its doors this Thursday, Americans will finally have a watchdog to ensure that financial products provide value—not landmines—to consumers. But opponents of financial reform are trying to hamstring the CFPB to make it ineffective; one example is the threat by 44 Senators to block nomination of any CFPB Director unless the Bureau is significantly weakened and power is given back to the banking agencies that led us to the financial crisis. The economy will not get back on track without a robust and independent Consumer Financial

Mortgages servicers should be required to give every mortgage holder "a good-faith review of foreclosure alternatives " before taking steps to take his or her home, CRL president Michael Calhoun told Congress today.&p> In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee 's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, he recommended that servicers be required to do the following: exhaust alternatives before starting foreclosure proceedings disclose the numbers they use to calculate whether a mortgage holder qualifies for a

CRL, the National Consumer Law Center and other groups yesterday filed a joint comment letter on why a new proposal by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency makes no sense, will not stand up in court, and should be withdrawn. [ Read the letter.] Specifically, the OCC has proposed that nationally chartered banks can continue to ignore state laws governing mortgages, credit cards, bank accounts, and other financial products. That's the same OCC position that contributed to the current mortgage mess, at great cost to taxpayers, shareholders, retirees and homeowners. The OCC's proposal