Research

Federal regulators are proposing to mandate down payments as high as 20% on future home loans, but even a 10% down payment requirement would stifle economic recovery and lock out responsible home buyers. How Many Years Would it Take These Workers to Save for a 10% Down Payment? Graph: Years to save for 10% down payment by 10 common occupations (PDF) Graph: Years to save for 10% down payment by race and ethnicity (PDF) The housing market of the future can drive economic growth without shutting out responsible home buyers.

More Information: Summary of HB 810 Text of HB 810 Why Oppose HB 810? Background on Consumer Finance Loans in NC Who Opposes HB 810 ? How Did Your Representative Vote on HB 810 in 2011? House Bill 810, after barely passing the House in 2011, died in the Senate Rules Committee in 2012. And, for the first time in five years, there is no study commission appointed to "study" this industry. HB 810 would have significantly increased the rates and fees that consumer finance companies can charge on installment loans0. CRL estimates that this bill would have cost NC borrowers $50-70 million per year...

Why Did We Oppose HB 810? Read entire bill >> Read our summary of the bill >> What's happened with HB 810? >> Rates on small loans in NC are already too high. With families struggling, making these loans more expensive will be a disaster for NC consumers. 25 to 54% interest is enough. Consumer finance companies can already charge up to 54% annual interest on the smallest of these loans. They can also charge about 25% annual interest on loans up to $10,000. This is more than enough. The companies are profitable already. The NC Commissioner of Banks has studied this industry in depth and...

Read entire bill >> See our talking points >> What's happened with HB 810? >> The Consumer Finance Act lets non-bank lenders make small loans of $10,000 or less. The current law creates two tiers of lenders: "53-173" lenders who can make loans up to $3000 and "53-176" lenders who can make loans up to $10,000. If HB 810 had passed, it would have: Increased the Loan Size Increased the maximum loan size from $10,000 to 15,000. Increased the Interest Charged on Loans Read the entire bill Under Section 173 (for loans up to $3000) Would have allowed 36% interest on loans up to $1500. Current law...

Dealer Markups Alone Cost Americans $25.8 Billion Over the Lives of their Loans Predatory practices in auto financing force consumers to struggle not only for a competitive and affordable loan, but for a fair and honest one. Finding a good deal is no longer based on the quality of the car or the creditworthiness of the customer, but rather the customer's ability to survive a financial shell game with one of the largest investments most Americans will ever make. The following are some of the most harmful abuses created by such financial shell game ( click on each one to find out more) : DEALER...

Survey finds low opt-in rate, high number of misperceptions Download the complete survey (PDF) >> When it came to convincing customers to opt in to high-cost overdraft coverage, it was as if the banks rigged the election but still lost the vote. A Center for Responsible Lending survey indicates that most consumers do not want high-cost overdraft coverage for their checking accounts, and that opt-ins are largely based on aggressive and misleading marketing, rather than clear and accurate information from banks. Many banks routinely cover any transaction that overdraws a customer's account...

Rate Markups Cost Americans $25.8 Billion Over the Lives of Their Loans Download the Full Report (PDF) >> Download the Executive Summary (PDF) >> Rate Markup Volume Per State (Web Page) >> Costly Service The average dealer rate markup is $714 per loan. Learn what that may mean to a consumer's pocketbook. Cars are the most common nonfinancial assets held by Americans. For most families, owning a car is not merely a luxury, but a prerequisite to opportunity.Cars not only provide transportation, but also options for where to work and live, and how we all interact with our communities.As a result...

CRL joins mortgage bankers, Realtors, home builders and other housing groups in explaining how high down payments would make homeownership more expensive or out of reach for millions of American.

H.R. 1121 would threaten the ability of the newly-enacted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protect consumers from predatory and abusive financial practices. The bill, which would fundamentally change the structure of the CFPB from a single, accountable director to a weak five-person commission, would derail the consumer protections enacted under the Dodd-Frank act (P.L. 111-203). We urge Congress to reject this bill and keep the single director in place for the following reasons: CFPB should be implemented and given a chance to succeed before changes to its structure are enacted...

Replacing CFPB Director with Commission and changing the funding structure would weaken the bureau's accountability and independence. S. 737 would threaten the independence of the newly-enacted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and would harm the ability of the Bureau to properly protect consumers from predatory and abusive financial practices. The bill, which would remove the independent funding mechanism and fundamentally change the structure of the CFPB from a single, accountable director to a weak five-person commission, would derail the consumer protections enacted under the...