Research & Policy

Four Tips to Rid Yourself of Credit Card Debt Sooner and Save Money The CARD Act of 2009 has provisions that enable borrowers to pay down their existing credit card debt sooner, save money in future interest, and improve their credit score. These key protections took effect on February 22, 2010, and have forced credit card issuers to reform the complex way card payments are credited to individual accounts. CRL advises Americans to: Pay above the minimum amount due. Paying more than the minimum can save you as much as $2 for every extra $1 you pay. For example, before the CARD Act, paying $100...

A brief by the National Consumer Law Center shows state-by-state markups on auto loan rates by race, revealing wide disparities between costs for African-American and white car buyers.

The current financial system has left America's families, its military, its community banks, and its responsible auto dealers unprotected from the minority of dealer-lenders who sell unfair auto loans with hidden fees. Such practices can tarnish the reputation of the entire industry. Exempting irresponsible dealers would help Wall Street at the expense of America's families and honest dealers and lenders. As President Obama said in a speech on financial reform on April 22, 2010, "unless your business model depends on bilking people, there is little to fear from these new rules." "You have an...

What the CFPB Really Means for Washington and Americans 1. Myth: The proposed agency would duplicate the work of existing agencies and increase regulatory burden on businesses. FACT: The CFPB would consolidate and streamline existing functions to reduce regulatory burden. The new Agency would consolidate consumer protection rulemaking and enforcement that is now scattered across several agencies, creating unnecessary conflicts and duplication of effort. Since entities in the current system would be streamlined into a single agency, the bureau would actually reduce regulatory burden and expense...

What the CFPB Really Means for Washington and Americans Myth: The proposed agency would duplicate the work of existing agencies and increase regulatory burden on businesses. FACT: The CFPB would consolidate and streamline existing functions to reduce regulatory burden. The new Agency would consolidate consumer protection rulemaking and enforcement that is now scattered across several agencies, creating unnecessary conflicts and duplication of effort. Since entities in the current system would be streamlined into a single agency, the bureau would actually reduce regulatory burden and expense...

Here's a quick reference on what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would do, what it wouldn't do, and the most important parts of proposed financial reform legislation to help ensure strong consumer protections.

Financial companies are lobbying hard to strip states' rights to make and enforce consumer protection rules, but states must stay on the front lines of fighting predatory lending.

The Military Coalition expressed opposition via letter to the Senate Banking Committee about exempting car dealers from the financial reform bill on April 15 2010. The Department of Defense wrote a similar letter in February 2010 because car dealers have abused servicemembers.

CRL and other consumer groups comments to the Federal Reserve on proposed credit card rules related to the implementation of the Credit CARD Act and penalty rates and fee increases.

CRL and other consumer groups comments to the Federal Reserve on proposed credit card rules related to the implementation of the Credit CARD Act and penalty rates and fee increases.

Auto dealers are heading to Capitol Hill seeking a special carve-out from the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010" (S. 3217), which aims to put an end to the reckless practices of Wall Street and the abusive and discriminatory tactics by finance companies of all stripes. In their search for a loophole, auto dealers claim that the bill will restrict affordable car loans and result in a hike in fees. [1] However, their arguments ignore key facts about the bill and how new rules governing consumer finance would work. It is time to set the record straight. The auto dealers say: We...

CRL and other consumer groups provide comment on the Federal Reserve's opt-in rule and the proposed changes to Regulation DD.

The need for mortgage relief continues to grow, but too often companies that promise mortgage assistance relief services (MARS) turn out to be scammers. CRL and its allies recently submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission, which is considering tighter rules to ensure that people who pay for mortgage assistance actually have a fair chance of receiving help.

Provision Senate Bureau of Consumer Protection House Consumer Financial Protection Agency Administration Consumer Financial Protection Agency Presidentially Appointed Director Yes, confirmed by the Senate. Yes, confirmed by the Senate. Yes, confirmed by the Senate. Independent source of funding Yes, from the Federal Reserve Board budget. Yes, from the Federal Reserve Board budget. Yes, with fees on "entities and transactions" within the financial system. Rule-making Authority Writes rules, but rules can be vetoed by a two-thirds vote of a newly created council of bank regulators. Full rule...

Provision Senate Bureau of Consumer Protection House Consumer Financial Protection Agency Administration Consumer Financial Protection Agency Presidentially Appointed Director Yes, confirmed by the Senate. Yes, confirmed by the Senate. Yes, confirmed by the Senate. Independent source of funding Yes, from the Federal Reserve Board budget. Yes, from the Federal Reserve Board budget. Yes, with fees on "entities and transactions" within the financial system. Rule-making Authority Writes rules, but rules can be vetoed by a two-thirds vote of a newly created council of bank regulators. Full rule...

15 Fast Facts The magnitude of foreclosures and associated costs are daunting; the numbers tell the story. 1. Number of foreclosures initiated since 2007 6.6 million 2. Projected foreclosures during next 5 years Up to 12 million 3. Portion of all homeowners seriously delinquent on their mortgage 1 in 9 4. Portion of homes where owners owe more than property value Nearly 1 in 4 5. Drop in residential lending in 2008 from 2007 Over a trillion 6. Between 2006 and 2008, decline in existing home sales 24% 7. Between 2006 and 2008, decline in new home sales 54% 8. Between 2006 and 2008, % decline in...

California's Rees-Levering Act entitles car loan borrowers to receive information on the amount they must pay to recover their car when it is repossessed. This represents an important, and easy to satisfy, legal protection for car loan borrowers who otherwise may find it hard to determine the amount of payments and fees the lender claims are owed. U.S. Bank successfully argued to a California federal district court that it did not have to follow this law because of its status as a National Bank. CRL, joined by AARP, National Consumer Law Center, National Association of Consumer Advocates...

Full Session Law This legislation has two major components: (1) it extends the reach of the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project, and (2) it modifies the points and fees trigger for determining that a mortgage is high-cost. Extending the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project (SHFPP) Since 2008, the SHFPP has helped over 4,200 homeowners with subprime loans avoid foreclosure in North Carolina, and has allowed more than 10,000 others to meet housing counselors for free advice and assistance. Beginning November, 1, 2010, this legislation extends the program to cover all home loans whose...

In a letter to the Treasury Department, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced its support for financial reform, including the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, to protect its service members and their families from predatory car dealers. A DoD poll of its financial counselors found that the majority had counseled service members on issues such as "bait and switch financing." In 2006, the DoD's concern about its service members becoming ensnared in a payday lending debt trap contributed to the passage of a 36% federal rate cap for military personnel.

Julia Gordon testifies that there's no "silver bullet" for stopping foreclosures, and that's why we need multiple approaches to improve HAMP and effective actions beyond HAMP. For questions about this testimony, contact Julia Gordon at julia.gordon@responsiblelending.org or (202) 349-1878.

Download our report "Mainstream Banks Making Payday Loans" (PDF) UPDATE April 2010. A spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency told a reporter that the loans described in this report are not payday loans -- that the OCC has no problem with banks making them. "It's not a payday loan. It's available through banks and bank branches. It's something you don't get at a storefront." These are high-interest loans due on payday, virtually indistinguishable from storefront payday loans that have been banned in many states and by Congress to protect military personnel. Another example...

Read our report (PDF) >> Our nation's largest banks extract billions of dollars in fees from their customers each year through abusive overdraft loan programs. Over the last ten years, these programs developed and proliferated under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the national banks' primary regulator. The OCC recognized problems with the systems early on but has taken no meaningful action to address them. Today, financial institutions routinely approve even the smallest debit card transaction that results in an overdraft. The overdraft programs at the OCC's banks are...