We call on the Bureau: to require reporting on the full breadth of small business lending; to capture important data about loans applied for and made; and to complete the rulemaking and begin collection of these data expeditiously.
We call on the Bureau: to require reporting on the full breadth of small business lending; to capture important data about loans applied for and made; and to complete the rulemaking and begin collection of these data expeditiously.
“We welcome the CFPB’s update of Regulation B, which implements the ECOA, and have joined in the comprehensive comments filed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. More changes are needed to Regulation B, however, to give consumers stronger protections against discrimination in the credit marketplace.”
AFR and 30 other organizations sent a sign-on letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in support of their proposed student loan servicing data collection initiative. Compiling such metrics and borrower outcomes would benefit market participants, federal and state agencies, policymakers, and borrowers. Obtaining a clearer view of the student loan market overall will help inform all market participants on how best to serve student loan borrowers.
“…The digital economy should ensure consumers can access and use records about themselves, and that consumers can choose to authorize third-parties to access such data on their behalf to support their financial health and facilitate competition among financial services providers.”
“State laws often operate as the primary line of defense for consumers and small businesses; thus, the proposal puts them at great risk. The OCC must not undermine state rate caps. Interest rate caps are the simplest, most effective way to protect borrowers from unaffordable, high-rate loans and to align the interests of lenders and borrowers.”
Over 18,000 members of Americans for Financial Reform signed a petition calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure that consumers aren’t deprived of their day in court.
At a CFPB hearing in Richmond, Va., AFR delivered a letter in which a remarkable array of civil rights, faith, economic justice, elder, community and civic organizations – 500 altogether, including groups from all 50 states – applaud the CFPB for its commitment to this issue and urge it to develop and implement regulations that finally put payday, car-title and other small-dollar lenders “on the same footing as other lenders, requiring them to play by the rules and make fair loans.”
“Few practices are as abusive, unfair, and deceptive as the widespread use of forced arbitration clauses in most consumer contracts, including credit cards, student loans, debt settlement, credit repair, auto financing, and payday loans. Forced arbitration funnels consumers into a private system set up by corporations to protect and hide harmful and unlawful corporate behavior.”
“While the [proposed] rules are generally strong, we offer several suggestions below for strengthening the rules and closing loopholes. In particular, the CFPB should ban all overdraft fees; apply credit card protections to all credit transferred to a linked prepaid card; and limit fees before account opening and beyond the first year. We also urge the CFPB to require prepaid card funds to be held in accounts protected by deposit insurance and to adopt stronger rules to prevent coercive use of payroll, public benefit, student, released prisoner and other prepaid cards.”
AFR submitted comments to the CFPB on the agency’s proposed amendments to its mortgage servicing regulations. AFR appreciates the CFPB’s attention to dealing with continuing problems facing borrowers seeking loan modifications, supports proposed steps to address them, and urges further changes to do so more effectively.