Research

Mark Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League Michael F. Molesky, senior financial economist Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) The proposed housing finance legislation would impose great harm on affordable housing efforts and the overall housing market. Proponents of the legislation do not address the damage the proposal would do by repealing the...

Almost eight years after Colorado enacted a payday law reform bill in 2010, payday lenders in Colorado continue to ensnare customers in a cycle of high-cost debt. Customers are drawn in by promises of easy cash. But as the high costs mount, the struggle to cover monthly expenses is compounded by the struggle to cover the cost of the payday...

S. 2155 would re-expose consumers to reckless and abusive financial practices, including many that contributed to the last recession and foreclosure crisis. The bill weakens crucial consumer protections, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule and Ability-to-Repay standard. The bill would also let Wall Street greed once again threaten to bring down the U.S. economy. Download the...

The so-called "Madden fix" bill would make it easier for predatory payday lenders and other non-banks using rent-a-bank arrangements or partnerships to override state interest rate caps and make loans of 300% annual interest or higher. Unaffordable payday loans and other triple-digit interest predatory loans have devastating consequences for already financially distressed borrowers—trapping them in a cycle of debt and...

For-profit colleges are big businesses, primarily funded by taxpayers. Many deliver poor instructional quality at high cost, causing a high proportion of students to drop out. Even for those students who do graduate, gainful employment in the field that they trained for is frequently elusive. Both non-completers and graduates bear high burdens of debt relative to their post college earnings...

Enacted by Congress in 1975, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires an annual public accounting of the nation’s mortgage lending. Its data provides critical information for both the public and financial sectors by alerting the nation to trends on the groups of Americans that are actually receiving mortgage loans from financial institutions. For the third straight year, CRL’s HMDA...

This poll conducted by Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting shows overwhelming support among likely voters for policy proposals that assist those with education debt, with particularly high support for proposals that permit borrowers to refinance existing loans2 and to create flexible repayment options. 91 percent of voters favor permitting borrowers to refinance their existing student loans at a...

Higher education can be the gateway to a better life. Yet the rising costs of a college education and poor oversight of student loans have left some graduates and former students deep in debt—especially when enrolled in for-profit colleges. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) found that students of color enroll more frequently in for-profit colleges than other students, graduate...

Although marketed as quick cash for financial emergencies, payday and car-title loans typically become long-term debt that drains hundreds of dollars—if not thousands—from consumers. These small dollar loans carry average annual percentage rates of 391% that make it very difficult to escape a cycle of debt that can last months or years. Either through direct access to borrower bank accounts...

Financial institutions drain billions of dollars annually from their customers through abusive overdraft fee practices. Frequently marketed as a “customer service,” overdraft fees are charged when a customer’s account lacks sufficient funds to cover a transaction and the institution pays the transaction anyway. The institution then repays itself the value of the overdraft transactions and all accompanying fees from the...