Research & Policy

In our January 2017 CRL Issue Brief, States without Payday and Car-title Lending Save $5 Billion in Fees Annually, we estimated that consumers in states without payday and car title lending save over $5 billion in fees each year – $2.2 billion in payday fees saved, plus another $2.8 billion in car title fees saved. In this earlier Issue Brief...

Among Maryland voters, concern over student loan debt has reached a critical mass: 71% say student loan debt in the state is a "major problem;" 82% agree that the overall outstanding student loan debt represents a financial crisis; and 87% say the federal government should not force states to step aside when addressing the student loan crisis, but work with...

Since 1934, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has played a vital role in the housing finance system. It serves as the entry point to the mortgage market for many first-time homebuyers and helped create a strong economic recovery following the Great Depression. However, in its early development, the FHA perpetuated racial discrimination in its facilitation of broad mortgage credit liquidity...

While today's hearing importantly focuses on payday lending as a civil rights concern, it occurs within the context of a two-tiered financial services system rooted in a long history of discrimination on the basis of race. Nationally, payday lenders strip away over $4 billion a year from consumers through unaffordable loans carrying annual interest rates of 300% or higher. In...

Congressional Review Act (CRA) H.J. Res. 132/S.J. Res. 57 seeks to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 guidance addressing indirect auto lending. This guidance describes auto lenders’ responsibility, established by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, to avoid discriminatory lending practices. Lending discrimination in the auto market, substantiated by data time and again, has long been prevalent.

Congressional Review Act H.J. Res. 132 seeks to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 guidance addressing indirect auto lending. This guidance describes auto lenders’ responsibility, established by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, to avoid discriminatory lending practices. Download this factsheet for more information on these discriminatory practices.

The letter begins... We, the undersigned civil rights and consumer advocacy organizations, ask you to oppose S.J. Res. 57, the Congressional Review Act (CRA), introduced by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), intended to undo the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Consumer Bureau) Indirect Auto Lending Guidance, published over five years ago. This resolution is the latest in a series of...

The full letter begins: We, the undersigned civil rights and consumer advocacy organizations, ask you to oppose S.J. Res. 57, the Congressional Review Act (CRA), introduced by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), intended to undo the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Consumer Bureau) Indirect Auto Lending Guidance, published over five years ago. This resolution is the latest in a series...

In recent decades, an increase in consumer debt has led to substantial growth in the debt collection industry as Americans struggled to pay down their debts. A subset of the debt collection industry, debt buyers, emerged in the wake of this growth in consumer debt. Debt buyers purchase debts from lenders and other creditors at a steep discount and then...

Congressional Review Act S.J. Res. 57 seeks to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 guidance addressing indirect auto lending. This guidance describes auto lenders’ responsibility, established by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, to avoid discriminatory lending practices. Download this factsheet for more information on these discriminatory practices.

The payday lenders promote myths in an effort to kill the CFPB’s payday loan rule aimed at stopping their 300% interest debt trap. The facts that dispel some common myths can be found here.

Over 100 North Carolina organizations have joined this state sign-on letter to strongly oppose payday lending. These groups include military and veterans associations, faith organizations, housing and credit counseling agencies, rural, business, civil rights, seniors and labor groups, among many others. They urge our North Carolina congressional delegation to strongly oppose H.J. Resolution 122 and S.J. Resolution 56, fast-track measures...

H.R. 4861 (Hollingsworth), the so-called EQUAL Act, invites banks to get back into the business of 200-300% interest payday loans that trap customers in unaffordable debt. The bill would rescind the FDIC’s 2013 guidance addressing bank payday (“deposit advance)” loans; exempt banks and credit unions from the CFPB’s final payday loan rule; and provide for express federal preemption of state...

Mark Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League Michael F. Molesky, senior financial economist Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) The proposed housing finance legislation would impose great harm on affordable housing efforts and the overall housing market. Proponents of the legislation do not address the damage the proposal would do by repealing the...

Any proposal should hold to the spirit of the original HEA which sought to open the doors of higher education to all. This proposition connotes meaningful access and opportunity to quality higher education programs, not simply the creation of more options or the provision of unduly burdensome loans. Despite this goal, our current system is at risk of curtailing the...

The so-called "Madden fix" bill would make it easier for predatory payday lenders and other non-banks using rent-a-bank arrangements or partnerships to override state interest rate caps and make loans of 300% annual interest or higher. Unaffordable payday loans and other triple-digit interest predatory loans have devastating consequences for already financially distressed borrowers—trapping them in a cycle of debt and...

Almost eight years after Colorado enacted a payday law reform bill in 2010, payday lenders in Colorado continue to ensnare customers in a cycle of high-cost debt. Customers are drawn in by promises of easy cash. But as the high costs mount, the struggle to cover monthly expenses is compounded by the struggle to cover the cost of the payday...

The Trump Administration and Congressional leaders have taken actions that put corporate interests ahead of struggling students. Download a factsheet of important legislative and regulatory actions for which to watch.

S. 2155 would re-expose consumers to reckless and abusive financial practices, including many that contributed to the last recession and foreclosure crisis. The bill weakens crucial consumer protections, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule and Ability-to-Repay standard. The bill would also let Wall Street greed once again threaten to bring down the U.S. economy. Download the...

Ten groups filed this amicus brief in support of the continued independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This brief appeals the trial court’s denial of a preliminary injunction allowing Leandra English to serve as acting director of the CFPB. The litigation regarding whether the lawful acting director is English or U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney...

Nearly 74 million people, about a quarter of the United States population, live in rural areas. That includes 15 million people of color. But according to the authors of a new paper published by the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings, these families are often overlooked in policy discussions on proposed changes to the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), which...

CRL Director of Federal Advocacy, Scott Astrada, appeared before the HFSC's Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee on January 9th, 2018 to deliver testimony for a hearing tittled "Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime: Part III." He spoke on the following bills: H.R. 2683, a bill to prevent veterans' credit scores from unfairly being hurt by...

Leading civil and human rights organizations and housing policy advocates are urging 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. The top policy concern of the organizations is to preserve the current system’s access and...

The PROSPER Act is yet another boost for the private sector instead of consumers and taxpayers. At a time when college affordability is increasingly beyond the financial reach of most Americans, the future of higher education and student lending will affect both consumers and our nation’s ability to effectively compete in a global economy. With more than 44 million Americans...

This letter to Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, voices CRL's strong opposition to H.R. 4508, "Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act." Prosperity and economic security are laudable and elusive goals for many Americans, and we believe the Higher Education Act should play a key role in increasing...