predatory lenders Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: Much Needed Workplace Payday Loan Rule Will Help Curb Predatory Loan Practices

Today’s interpretative rule by the Consumer Financial Product Bureau on workplace payday loans (or the so-called Earned Wage Access products) will clearly label these products as loans, subjecting them to the laws, disclosures, and protections that consumers deserve if they choose products that are effectively high-cost loans. As a result of this proposal, companies offering these loans will have to follow basic rules such as the 55-year-old Truth in Lending Act to disclose the annual percentage rate of these loans.

News Release: Payday Lender, Eastman Briefs Highlight Weak Legal Case Against CFPB

Washington, D.C. — Briefs filed by the payday lending lobby and John Eastman, the lawyer who tried to help former President Trump overturn the 2020 election, highlight the extremely weak legal case that this predatory industry has against the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a vital federal agency that polices the financial services market on behalf of everyday people.

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: 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.

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.

Joint Letter: AFR and 16 Organizations Oppose HR 2570 — A Bill Promoting Predatory Mortgage Lending

H.R. 2570 would open the door to predatory mortgage lending by making it easier for lenders to steer homeowners into high-cost, abusive deals on certain mortgages, especially on home equity lines of credit and construction loans

AFR Statement: Oppose Hensarling’s Bid to Dismantle Wall Street Reform and CFPB

The committee, with the backing of the Trump administration, is gearing up to pass a bill that would give Wall Street and assorted predatory lenders a free hand to abuse consumers and investors, and raise the likelihood of another financial crisis. Congress should be looking for ways to enforce the rules on Wall Street, not reward their army of lobbyists.