http://www.responsiblelending.org Press releases on predatory mortgage lending, payday lending, and other issues from the Center for Responsible Lending web@responsiblelending.org 2010 Center for Responsible Lending Convio Content Management System Module en-us http://www.responsiblelending.org/styles/images/crl-logotag.jpg http://www.responsiblelending.org www.responsiblelending.org-678696125 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Predatory-Lending-Laws-Work-Study-Finds.html With the right rules in place, predatory lending can be reined in and abuses can be curbed even in the Internet era, according to a policy brief from the Center for Responsible Lending. Mon, 23 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0600 www.responsiblelending.org-680884900 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/House-Votes-to-Bring-Back-Risky-Mortgage-Lending.html Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1210. The bill would exempt the nation’s largest banks from rules put in place in response to the economic crisis. Specifically, the bill would give legal protections to any bank that holds any mortgage loan in its portfolio. The bank would receive the legal protections even if it ignored certain best practice underwriting standards and charged the high fees and high interest rates associated with the predatory lending in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis. Fri, 20 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0600 www.responsiblelending.org-678370954 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/House-Vote-Undermines-Anti-Discrimination-Laws.html The U.S. House of Representatives voted last night to pass H.R. 1737, the Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act. The bill requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rescind its warning to lenders who provide auto loans through dealerships that certain practices risk violating fair lending laws. Auto dealers have discretion to raise the interest rate for which borrowers qualify and then keep some or all of the additional charges. Thu, 19 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0600 www.responsiblelending.org-677232772 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Poll-Shows-Overwhelming-Support-for-Mortgage-Rule-at-Risk-in-House-Vote-Next-Week.html A key mortgage lending reform – which would be rolled back by a bill coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives next week – commands the support of an overwhelming majority of voters, according to a poll conducted this summer by Lake Research on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending. Fri, 13 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0600 www.responsiblelending.org-677019124 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Car-Dealer-Interest-Rate-Markups-Lead-to-Higher-Interest-Rates-Not-Discounts.html A new policy brief from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) shows that most consumers would pay lower interest rates if car dealers stopped getting paid through increases in the interest rate. According to industry data, as many as 70% of borrowers would pay a lower interest rate if the car lending industry shifted to a flat fee compensation model. Borrowers of color would likely see the most savings. Fri, 13 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0600 www.responsiblelending.org-676305394 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/CRL-Report-Payday-and-Car-Title-Loans-Cost-Ohioans-Over-500-Million-a-Year.html According to a new report released today by the Center for Responsible Lending, payday and car title loans continue to burden Ohioans with unaffordable, triple-digit interest rate debt, draining millions of dollars a primarily from low-income people. These findings are the first look at the Ohio payday and car title lending market since Ohio voters went to the polls in 2008 to affirm capping the rate at 28% annually, a mandate which lenders have subverted through legal loopholes. Mon, 09 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0600 www.responsiblelending.org-673572431 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Rules-Ban-Colleges-from-Steering-Students-to-High-Cost-Bank-Accounts.html Final rules issued today from the Department of Education will protect college students from being pushed into high-fee bank accounts by their colleges, banks and bank affiliates. The rules will ban overdraft and other bank fees on some accounts jointly marketed by these financial entities. It will also require that the accounts be marketed more fairly. Tue, 27 Oct 2015 00:00:00 -0500 www.responsiblelending.org-669232996 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Consumer-Bureau-Takes-First-Step-to-Increase-Consumer-Rights-in-Contracts.html Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposal to rein in the widespread use of clauses in financial services contracts that ban class action lawsuits by groups of consumers who have been harmed. They stopped short of also banning binding mandatory arbitration provisions. Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:00:00 -0500 www.responsiblelending.org-667903300 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Report-Shows-Payday-Car-Title-Lenders-Moving-Into-Unsafe-Installment-Loans.html A new policy brief released today by the Center for Responsible Lending provides a state-by-state snapshot showing predatory payday and car title lenders increasingly moving into installment loans. The lenders are continuing to offer unsafe loans with excessive interest rates, which are carefully designed to trap borrowers in a cycle of debt they cannot escape, and actively seeking to expand into new states. Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 -0500 www.responsiblelending.org-667376042 http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/Fifth-Third-to-Pay-21-Million-for-Illegal-Auto-Lending-Credit-Card-Practices.html Yesterday, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that Fifth Third Bank will pay $21 million back to consumers as a part of two investigations into the institution’s practices. The bank will pay $18 million to African American and Latino consumers for engaging in auto dealer markups a discriminatory lending practice that resulted in borrowers of color paying more for their car loans. Tue, 29 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0500