Category Archives: Statements and Press Releases

News Release: Internet, Federal Authorities Must Seek Answers Before Any Sale of Dot-Org

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund and the Electronic Frontier Foundation said the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which coordinates the operation and maintenance of the internet’s domain name system, should make sure that the transaction will “not imperil the future operation of .ORG” before allowing it to proceed.

Joint Letter: OCC Proposal Could Greenlight Predatory Lending Schemes

A coalition of more than 100 organizations yesterday submitted a public comment in opposition to a proposed rule from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that would make it easier for payday and other high-cost lenders to use banks as a fig leaf to offer predatory loans at interest rates of 100 percent APR or higher that are prohibited under state rate cap laws.

News Release: Groups: FDIC & OCC Are Wrong to Support Predatory Small Business Lender

Small business advocates, consumer groups, and civil-rights advocates today sent a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) criticizing the agencies’ decision to file an amicus brief supporting a predatory small business lender that used a bank to evade state interest rate laws so that it could make a 120% annual percentage rate (APR) $550,000 loan.