Americans for Financial Reform today applauded the introduction of the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act of 2021, legislation that would extend the 36 percent APR interest rate cap on payday and car-title lenders in the Military Lending Act (MLA) to cover all Americans.
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) released its final rule under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) related to helping homeowners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule contains important consumer protections to help stave off unnecessary foreclosures, but the time period for the rule’s foreclosure protections should be extended and the Bureau should vigorously enforce it to ensure homeowners receive the intended protections.
AFREF joined a letter to the CFPB calling for greater consumer protections in their final debt collection rules.
AFREF, NCLC, and NHLP submitted detailed comments to the CFPB urging the Bureau to strengthen its make necessary improvements to its COVID loss mitigation proposal to protect the most vulnerable borrowers and strengthen protections against foreclosures.
AFREF and 41 organizations sent comments in response to the CFPB’s proposed COVID loss mitigation rule urging the Bureau to make critical improvements to help avoid unnecessary foreclosures and to facilitate streamlined solutions for borrowers facing COVID-19 hardships that will make it possible for them to keep their homes and provide them with the stability they need to recover and rebuild.
AFREF joined a letter to the CFPB requesting they prohibit credit reporting of rent arrears incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic
AFREF joined our partners in sending a follow-up letter calling on the CFPB to rescind its April 1, 2020 guidance allowing consumer reporting agencies and furnishers to exceed the dispute investigation deadlines under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In the six months since we sent our last letter, the situation has only gotten worse, with nearly 26,000 more complaints submitted by consumers about delayed or nonexistent responses to credit/consumer reporting disputes. We urged the Bureau to revoke the guidance as soon as possible to prevent further consumer harm.
AFR released housing policy recommendations to promote equitable housing access for all people in the United States, minimize pervasive harm from the COVID-19 pandemic, hold predatory actors accountable, and expand sustainable opportunities in communities of color.
AFR Ed Fund, NCLC, CRL, NCST and NHLP sent a letter to the CFPB with our recommendations for a loss mitigation framework that will allow servicers to offer COVID streamlined modification options while maintaining adequate protections for borrowers in the process.
137 organizations joined AFR in a sign on letter to Congress supporting the nomination of Rohit Chopra as the next CFPB Director.