“Congress has done the right thing in allowing the rule to stand. Now the spotlight is on Mick Mulvaney. Will he move ahead on his plans to unravel it, and continue to cater to the payday lenders who gave generously to his campaigns?” said Lisa Donner, executive director at AFR.
“Deposit advance” loans are payday loans, pure and simple, and data clearly show they create the same debt trap caused by non-bank payday loans. High-cost longer-term loans facilitated by banks and credit unions would also cause customers substantial harm. We also urge you to ensure that all financial institutions engaged in small dollar lending (1) limit interest rates to 36% or less, and (2) determine borrowers’ ability to repay their loans by assessing both income and expenses rather than engaging in collateral-based income-only underwriting.”
Across parties and regions, American voters believe the government should fight discrimination by financial firms against African-Americans and Latinos in lending.
“What Mulvaney is really interested in is not serious research, but information that advances the interests of the Wall Street banks and predatory lenders he serves.”
“America is facing an ongoing student debt crisis, with outstanding student debt surpassing $1.5 trillion and over 8 million borrowers in default on their student loans. Closing the Office for Students is like shuttering the fire department in the middle of a three-alarm fire,” said Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform.
“‘“Companies will put millions of people into more expensive car loans simply because of the color of their skin,, said Rion Dennis, an advocate of financial overhaul at Americans for Financial Reform. ‘By using the Congressional Review Act to wipe out straightforward regulatory guidance, the congressional majority has also opened the door to challenging longstanding efforts to protect workers, consumers, civil rights, the environment and the economy.’”
In the era of mass incarceration, racial profiling and unaccountable police brutality, every member of Congress who voted for this bill has to explain why they do not believe people of color deserve the full protection of the federal government, especially given the long documented history of racial discrimination in auto lending.
Making the database public makes it more useful and more visible, which in turn makes it more likely to be used, and to provide more valuable information to the Bureau and the public about consumer financial services.
“The RFIs pose questions that are almost entirely from an industry perspective and are insufficiently specific to elicit meaningful comment. The RFIs hint at changes desired by industry without providing enough detail to inform members of the public who do not have experience with the internal workings of the Bureau or the implications of the questions. This process weighted in industry’s favor is not consistent with the CFPB mandate to focus on consumer protection.”
“‘“By voting to roll back the CFPB’s work, senators have emboldened banks and finance companies to engage in racial discrimination by charging millions of people of color more for a car loan than is justified,’ said Rion Dennis of Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy group. ‘Lawmakers have also opened the door to challenging longstanding agency actions that are crucial to protecting workers, consumers, civil rights, the environment and the economy.’”