Amicus Brief in De la Cruz v. Wachovia Dealer Services
This case involves borrowers who purchased a vehicle through a dealership in California. The financial institution in question, Wachovia, did not make the loans, but later purchased the installment contracts from the dealer. When the borrower fell behind on their payments, Wachovia repossessed the cars without properly following California law. California allows self-help repossession, but has strict rules regarding consumers'...
CRL Argues All Banks Must Follow State Repossession Laws
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...
Impact of and Reactions to Proposed Regulation Z Revisions
Committee: California State Senate Banking, Finance & Insurance Committee
The Mortgage Crisis Today: How Far Have We Come and Where Do We Need to Go?
Committee: California State Assembly Banking and Finance Committee
CRL Strongly Supports SB 515 Reforming Payday Loans
SB 515 includes three principal reforms California payday loans: it caps the number of payday loans per borrower at four per year; extends the minimum term of a payday loan, so that borrowers will have more time to accumulate the amounts necessary to repay it; and requires all lenders to apply standardized underwriting guidelines to ensure that borrowers have a...
Senate Bill 515 "Reforming Payday Loans"
California payday loan borrowers get caught in a cycle of repeat borrowing of 459% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) loans. Reforms are necessary to ensure that payday loans serve their advertised purpose and better protect consumers. SB 515 proposes a series of reforms to allow payday loans to better serve their advertised purpose while making the loans safer for consumers. Read...
Reforming the Debt Trap in California
Payday Loans Create a Debt Trap. For California families living paycheck to paycheck, the high price of a payday loan and the fact that it must be paid off in one lump sum two short weeks later virtually ensures that cash-strapped borrowers will be unable to meet their basic expenses and pay off their loan with their next paycheck. Consequently...
Effects of the California Foreclosure Crisis on African Americans and Latinos
As the nation struggles through the sixth year of the foreclosure crisis, there are no signs that the flood of home losses in America will recede anytime soon. California, through its African-American and Latino homeowners in particular, has and will continue to suffer dramatic losses of both homes and wealth, and will see an erosion of decades of socioeconomic progress...
Foreclosure Reduction Act: CRL Refutes California Bankers Association's Flawed Claims
The Foreclosure Reduction Act (AB 278 & SB 900) is designed to provide Californians with better safeguards and fair treatment in the foreclosure process. The California Bankers Association and other industry groups recently released a flawed report purporting to show how the bill will extend the foreclosure process and have detrimental economic consequences. The proponents' claims are unsubstantiated and are...