Research

At the root of HR 6139 and similar legislation is an effort by non-bank lenders to circumvent new federal oversight and undermine consumer protections recently provided under recent Wall Street reforms. HR 6139 will needlessly move federal jurisdiction over non-bank financial service providers from the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), thus negating recent efforts to rein in reckless and abusive practices like those that ignited the current economic crisis. If HR 6139 or similar legislation is approved, non-bank...

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 in our communities. California is only halfway through the foreclosure crisis: Data from CRL's report, Lost Ground, 2011 show that 9.3 percent of all loans originated between 2004 and 2008 – 581,000 – have already resulted in...

Bringing the "unbanked" into mainstream banking is good policy only if new account holders are not subject to financial practices that strip funds from these new accounts. Unfortunately, today's mainstream banking environment is fraught with danger for families who do not have a significant cushion of cash at their disposal. Local, state and federal agencies; civic organizations; and financial institutions are partnering in bringing these families into the mainstream. These stakeholders should ensure that programs promoting mainstream banking do not unintentionally create a supply of customers...

Lack of regulation led to the foreclosure crisis that has destabilized the housing market and mortgage lending: Federal regulators could have stepped in to curb abusive lending practices in the years leading up to the foreclosure crisis, but this failed to happen. Instead, the private label securitization system bypassed government oversight by bundling an increasing number of subprime and Alt-A mortgages into mortgage-backed securities, and the widespread failure of these mortgages precipitated the still ongoing foreclosure crisis. Dodd-Frank, and the creation of the CFPB, are important...

74% of Americans favor the CFPB Voters are nearly unanimous in their support for specific policies the CFPB has created A July 2012 poll demonstrates very broad bipartisan support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other reforms in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This poll--taken at the two-year anniversary of Dodd-Frank--has similar results to a poll taken last year and shows continued strong voter support for the law's provisions and actions taken to date by the CFPB. Read CRL's analysis. Some key findings from the poll: A large majority of...

Carve-Out Undermines New Federal Consumer Oversight Infrastructure At the root of HR 1909 and similar legislation is an effort by non-bank lenders to circumvent new federal oversight and undermine consumer protections recently provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. HR 1909 will allow non-bank lenders selling a broad range of predatory products, including payday loans and car-title loans, to be chartered and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. With a national charter, the lenders could escape the jurisdiction of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)...

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 a deceptive attempt to derail carefully-crafted protective measures for California homeowners. The industry's report, "Foreclosure Reform in California: An Economic Analysis," is based on...

A Bipartisan Opportunity to Help Homeowners (Excerpt) Read the entire document (PDF) >> A bill in the U.S. Senate would more than double the number of homeowners who could refinance under a federal mortgage program and more than double their potential savings, a Columbia University Business School study estimates. Senate bill 3085, introduced by Senators Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer, would expand and streamline refinancing opportunities under the existing Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The study estimates this new legislation would increase the total number of homeowners who...

Read the press release >> Although the national foreclosure crisis is now in its fifth year, it is far from over—particularly for California. The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that there are still nearly 700,000 California homeowners who are at least 30 days delinquent or in the foreclosure process. While not all of these impending foreclosures can or should be prevented, new CRL analysis sheds light on the impact of loan modifications on preventing avoidable foreclosures and how many and which Californians are at risk. California's legislature stands on the brink of extending key...

California is only halfway through the foreclosure crisis, with more than 670,000 California households at risk of foreclosure: Data from CRL's report, Lost Ground, 2011 show that 9.3 percent of all loans originated between 2004 and 2008 – 581,000 – have already resulted in completed foreclosure, but that another 8.9 percent (549,000) were at immediate risk of foreclosure. At the end of 4Q 2011, more than 454,000 mortgage loans – or more than 1 in 14 – were past due (but not yet in foreclosure), while almost 217,000 loans were in the foreclosure process, bringing the total California loans at...