Community, Civil Rights Groups Sound Alarm on Trump Administration Moves to Weaken Consumer Protections for Military Servicemembers and Their Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 24, 2018 CONTACT: Desmond Lee; desmond.lee@berlinrosen.com; 646-517-1826 Courtney Boland; courtney.boland@berlinrosen.com; 646-757-8755 In letter to CFPB head and Defense Secretary, diverse cohort presses officials to reverse plan to undermine enforcement of the Military Lending Act WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, dozens of consumer, civil rights, and community organizations sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) head …

Protecting Servicemembers from Abusive Financial Practices

“The undersigned consumer, community, and civil rights organizations write to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to reverse its recent decision to suspend the supervision of payday, car title, and other lenders for violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA). We also urge the Department of Defense to ensure that the Military Lending Act is vigorously implemented without exemptions or …

Consumer, Civil Rights, Faith, and Community Groups Urge Regulators and Banks to Avoid a Return to Trapping Consumers in Debt

Consumer, civil rights, faith, and community groups are urging the FDIC Chair in this letter to keep in place the agency’s guidance urging banks to not sell these toxic loan products, which are harmful to consumers, banks’ reputation, and its safety and soundness. The coalition’s letter also calls for the FDIC to ensure small dollar installment loans are capped at …

Editorials and other press blast CFPB plan to ignore predatory loans made to military

State/Local News EDITORIAL Greensboro (NC) News and Record: Let’s not drop protections for troops from attacks by predatory lenders “Members of the armed forces and their families make significant sacrifices to keep our country safe. The least our government can do in return is provide them with basic protections that make it possible for them to manage their finances without …

Forty Nine Senators Tell The CFPB: Don’t Stop Protecting Service Members!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 15, 2018 CONTACT: Desmond Lee; desmond.lee@berlinrosen.com; 646-517-1826        Courtney Boland; courtney.boland@berlinrosen.com; 646-757-8755 Forty-Nine Senators Call On The Administration To Reverse Efforts To Erode The Military Lending Act   WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Reed (D-RI), Senator Brown (D-OH), and forty-seven other senators sent a letter to acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney, calling on the …

Payday Loan Reform News – August 13

Highlights Mulvaney Looks Weaken Oversight of Military Lending August 10, The New York Times The Trump administration is planning to suspend routine examinations of lenders for violations of the Military Lending Act, which was devised to protect military service members and their families from financial fraud, predatory loans and credit card gouging, according to internal agency documents.   CFPB is …

Proposed Rule on Credit Union Payday Alternative Loans Shouldn’t Permit Cycle of High-Cost Debt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 7, 2018 CONTACT: Desmond Lee 646-517-1826 Desmond.lee@berlinrosen.com Courtney Boland 646-757-8755 Courtney.Boland@berlinrosen.com In official comment letter to the National Credit Union Administration, broad coalition opposes changes that would permit an unlimited number of fees on short-term loans, resembling payday loan debt WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Stop The Debt Trap campaign released a comment letter from 100+ …

Payday Loan Reform News – August 6

Highlight A Gallery of Deregulators August 3, Jacobin The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which grants federal charters to banks, began accepting applications on Tuesday from financial technological (or “fintech”) firms like robo-stock advisors such as Betterment or lenders like SoFi or Lending Club. Other News Kristen Gillibrand Has an Ambitious Plan to Take on Payday Lenders: …