Tag Archives: consumer finance

News Release: Consumer Advocate Groups Call On FDIC To Reject Ford Credit’s ILC Charter Application

Ford Motor Company should be denied deposit insurance for its proposed new Ford Credit industrial loan company (ILC) charter, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, and the Center for Responsible Lending wrote to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Wednesday.

News Release: In Evaluating TAB Bank, FDIC Should Consider Consumer Harm, Possible Legal Violations, from Predatory Lending

WASHINGTON – Today a coalition of consumer advocates filed comments with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including a petition signed by more than 44,500 people and a letter describing hundreds of consumer complaints, urging the FDIC to consider Transportation Alliance Bank’s (TAB Bank) predatory rent-a-bank lending in assessing the bank’s performance in meeting community needs under the Community Reinvestment Act.  

News Release: Bank, Credit Union and Consumer Groups Support Committee Vote to Close the Industrial Loan Company Loophole

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services convened today to mark up a series of proposed laws, including a bill to close the industrial loan company (ILC) loophole. The ILC loophole allows Big Tech and other nonbank companies to offer financial products and services without complying with the safeguards and oversights required of bank holding companies.

News Release: National Auto Repair Chains Must Stop Offering Predatory Loans Through EasyPay Finance and TAB Bank

WASHINGTON – Today, a coalition of consumer advocacy groups sent letters to major national auto repair chains AAMCO and Precision Tune Auto Care (Icahn Enterprises), Big O Tires and Midas (TBC Corporation), Grease Monkey (FullSpeed Automotive), JiffyLube, and Meineke (Driven Brands) urging their stores and franchisees to stop offering financing through EasyPay Finance and Utah-based TAB Bank, which issue loans at rates up to 189%, even in states where that rate is illegal. The letters can be found here.

sign for the CFPB outside a building

News Release: Consumer Advocates Urge CFPB to Protect Consumers From “Junk Fees”

WASHINGTON – In response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) call for public input on how to save Americans billions in junk fees charged by financial companies, leading consumer advocacy organizations submitted an extensive comment letter detailing junk fees across a wide range of consumer financial products and services. The letter was submitted by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), Consumer Federation of America (CFA), the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), and National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) (on behalf of its low-income clients). 

the outside exterior of the U.S. Treasury Department building

News Release: Statement in Response to Biden Administration Executive Order on Digital Assets

“The administration’s order includes the recognition that the rapid growth of digital assets as instruments for financial speculation is creating a wide range of serious risks and harms for consumers, investors, and the public at large.  It is important that the order recognizes and articulates a set of these risks, and a whole of government approach can help address the scale and scope of the potential harm. It will be important for the studies authorized by the order to generate useful data and momentum for decisive regulatory action,” said Mark Hays, senior policy analyst with AFR and Demand Progress.

the us capitol

News Release: Voting Record Highlights House Efforts to Protect Consumers and Hold Wall Street Accountable During the 116th Congress

Today, Americans for Financial Reform released a record of votes during the 116th Congress regarding consumer protections and Wall Street accountability. During the 116th Congress, the Democratic-led House of Representatives advanced a number of measures to strengthen consumer protections and to put in place enforcement tools to hold bad actors in the financial industry accountable for abusive, discriminatory, and fraudulent practices.