“A federal regulator announced new restrictions Thursday on the payday lending industry, a move that is likely to face resistance in Congress. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s finalized rules largely reflect what the agency proposed last year. They are the first nationwide regulation of the industry, which had largely been left to the states.”
“At the heart of the rule is the common sense principle that lenders check a borrower’s ability to repay before lending money. While praising the CFPB for pushing to stop the debt trap, the coalition calls on the Bureau to build on this progress by quickly working to develop regulations to protect consumers from abusive long-term, high-cost loans. Also, strong state laws, such as rate caps, must continue to be defended and enacted.”
“The vote [came] during the debate over the Financial Services and General Government bill, which funds some basic functions of the federal government, including the Treasury Department… Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) introduced an amendment to take this language out of the appropriations bill and continue to allow the CFPB to regulate payday lenders as it regulates all financial services businesses. The amendment failed with four Republicans joining Ellison to protect borrowers and three Democrats choosing to side with payday predators.”
“The payday rule is seen as one of the last major Cordray-era regulatory proposals that haven’t been finalized, and consumer advocacy groups and liberal Democrats who support the CFPB have also been supportive of the rule proposal as a key measure to prevent consumers from getting mired in debt. Jose Alcoff, campaign organizer at Americans for Financial Reform, defended the bureau’s approach to the payday loans issue. ‘It’s been 29 months since the proposal was first outlined, and 15 since it was formally put to the public… We do need a rule soon to curb these abuses.’”
“According to the advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform, payday and title lenders spent more than $15 million on campaign contributions during the 2014 election cycle. The top recipient, with nearly $224,000 in donations from the industry, was the National Republican Congressional Committee. The largest individual recipient, with $210,500 in payday and title loan cash, was — you guessed it — Hensarling.”
“Amanda Jackson, who takes on powerful financial industry forces every day as the Organizing Manager for Americans for Financial Reform, says she’s drawing strength and inspiration from a surge of activism. ‘Trump is forcing people to be more conscious of problems that certain communities have been facing forever,’ Jackson told Inequality.org. ‘There’s no gray area anymore. Either you turn a blind eye to the problems or you answer the call to action. Fortunately, we’re seeing many people answer that call.’”
The chairman’s opening move in this year’s budget debate might delight Wall Street, but it would make life harder and more dangerous for the rest of us. His plans would make it easier for big banks and predatory lenders to rip off their customers, and easier for Wall Street billionaires to crash the economy — again.
“With a single director at its head the CFPB is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. It has recovered $12 billion for over 29 million people. The only plausible reason to change it, after nearly 6 years of good work, is to stop that good work from happening. The banks and predatory lenders who are pushing this want to be able to abuse consumers with impunity. There is no good reason to enable them.”
“Along with fake prescription drug peddlers, scam weight loss regimes, and sneaky malware spreaders, Google has taken down 5 million attempts to trap Americans in predatory loans since mid-July… ‘While Google’s actions are helpful and important, an internet company cannot be the main barrier to abuse by these predators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on smart, fair and flexible rules that, if finalized, will protect Americans from the worst abuses of payday lending. .. [I]t must not be undermined or weakened by the payday industry and their allies who want to keep getting away with debt trap 300% loans.’”
“State laws often operate as the primary line of defense for consumers and small businesses; thus, the proposal puts them at great risk. The OCC must not undermine state rate caps. Interest rate caps are the simplest, most effective way to protect borrowers from unaffordable, high-rate loans and to align the interests of lenders and borrowers.”