Research

The Center for Responsible Lender added its signature to a letter from national consumer organizations asking the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to adopt stricter overdraft guidelines. Practices that need to be addressed include enrolling customers in fee-based overdraft when they qualify for much lower-cost coverage, charging excessive fees in amount and frequency, re-ordering transactions to maximize...

Credit card offers have grown increasingly complicated since 2000, when Congress required issuers to start disclosing pricing information on credit card offers. But instead of providing clarity to consumers about the true cost of their credit cards, issuers responded to this mandate by adding a confusing array of numbers to their offers, new CRL research finds. Specifically, CRL's research finds...

As a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, the United States Senate asked the Department of Defense to conduct a study on the impact of predatory lending on their troops, and to report on their findings in 180 days. The Department of Defense (DoD) report, "Report on Predatory Lending Practices Directed at Members of the...

Read the full report >> States can stabilize the housing market by preventing unnecessary foreclosures. With the foreclosure crisis in the headlines for over two years now, it is easy to assume that it must be nearing the end. Unfortunately, this crisis is far from over. To date, 2.5 million homeowners have already lost their homes and another 5.7 million...

"Rampant, Pervasive Fraud" Maryland's AG, Doug Gansler, gives a quick overview of the national mortgage settlement, noting that "this is just a down payment by the national banks," not the end of the story. As foreclosures mounted in recent years, the mortgage servicing industry often responded with illegal shortcuts, illegal fees and incompetent management. The situation became so bad that...

An overview of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, focusing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and mortgage lending provisions. Prepared by Chris Kukla, CRL's Senior Counsel for Government Affairs.

Borrowers of color have a higher share of foreclosures and less access to credit. In many ways, this year's 2009 mortgage data submitted by lenders under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) contained few surprises. As expected, the 2009 results reflect the general downturn in the housing market. And, because of the severe tightening of mortgage capital among the GSEs...

Structure Independent bureau at the Federal Reserve. Director Appointed by President, Confirmed by Senate, 5-year term. Funding Certain percentage of Federal Reserve's budget; additional funding may be made available through Congressional appropriations, at the option of the CFPB Director. Three categories of regulatory duties Rulemaking Supervision (routine, on-going examination and monitoring for risks and new developments, as well as on-going...

Download this brief (PDF) >> Fed Issues Final Rules on Yield Spread Premiums The Federal Reserve Board issued final rules that take a big step forward in reining in arbitrary overcharges on mortgages resulting from "yield spread premiums" – i.e., kickbacks to brokers or lenders for making loans more expensive when borrowers qualify for a better deal. Background On Monday...

Read the full report (PDF) >> Read the executive summary (PDF) >> California and the United States are in the midst of the worst foreclosure crisis since the Great Depression. Across the country, foreclosures have hit an all-time high, with nearly one in ten homes with a mortgage currently in some stage of foreclosure. In California, nearly one in eight—or...