Every federal agency must dedicate all regulatory resources to addressing COVID-19 and the enforcement of rules meant to protect public health, consumers, investors and retirees, and the integrity and stability of the markets. The pursuit of any non-crisis-related rulemaking would be a misallocation of limited resources that distracts needed focus from U.S. public health and welfare, and financial stability.
Today the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) sent letters to one dozen large private student lenders urging the companies to take steps to mitigate borrower harm caused by the economic fallout of the coronavirus. Private student loan borrowers were not provided any relief by Washington’s emergency economic stimulus legislation. In light of this critical omission, and given the widespread financial impact of COVID-19, advocates are urging the largest student lenders to act quickly to protect borrowers.
Corporate and Wall Street titans have used the coronavirus crisis to grab windfalls as a price for putting desperately needed resources into health care and helping people facing acute distress after losing jobs and income. The Trump administration and too many members of Congress actively promoted this terribly unbalanced approach to a public health emergency. The federal government – Congress and the executive branch – must move swiftly beyond what is in this legislation to help struggling people, families and communities in a just and inclusive manner. More needs to be done to respond to this crisis.
Today, under the cover of a national crisis, five federal bank regulators issued small dollar bank lending guidance that lacks the consumer protections needed to ensure loans do not trap borrowers in a cycle of debt.
The recommendations below are focused on direct relief for consumers and individuals with debt burdens, which should be in addition to other efforts to provide broader fiscal relief and to support small businesses.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2020 CONTACT: Alexis Goldstein, alexis@ourfinancialsecurity.org The CARES Act fails to provide sufficient relief to federal student loan borrowers Statement from Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst, Americans for Financial Reform: The 43 million federal student loan borrowers are not getting meaningful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2020 CONTACT: Alexis Goldstein, alexis@ourfinancialsecurity.org Halt to Student Loan Collections Must Go Back Further, Include All Borrowers Statement from Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst, Americans for Financial Reform: Education Secretary DeVos’s announcement that some forced collections will be halted is
Letter to HUD asking for needed protections for reverse mortgage borrowers facing challenges due to COVID-19
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 24, 2020 National Consumer Law Center Contacts: Sarah Bolling Mancini (smancini@nclc.org), Odette Williamson (owilliamson@nclc.org), or Jan Kruse (jkruse@nclc.org) Advocates: HUD Must Do Much More to Protect Older Reverse Mortgage Borrowers in the Coronavirus Epidemic The National Consumer Law Center, Americans for
AFR Education Fund and 46 other organizations sent a letter to regulatory agencies urging them to suspend all non-COVID-19 rulemaking activity. Public advocates and regulatory agencies should focus all resources on responding to the public health emergency and the economic crisis.