predatory lending Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

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.

News Release: Advocates Call for FDIC to Stop Banks from Fronting for Predatory Lenders

With new leadership taking the helm of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Americans for Financial Reform and more than a dozen other consumer and civil rights organizations have joined in calling for the FDIC to “stop permitting its supervised institutions to front for predatory lenders evading state interest rate limits.

News Release: AFR Applauds Passage of Congressional Review Act Resolution Overturning Trump-Era Rule Enabling Nationwide Predatory Lending

“This vote ends the Trump administration’s enabling of predatory lending in blatant violation of state consumer protection laws,” Jun added.

News Release: Advocates Applaud Senate Rollback of Pro-Predatory Lending Rule

In a 52-47 vote last night, the U.S. Senate voted to overturn a Trump administration regulation that would allow predatory lenders to evade state interest rate laws by putting a bank’s name on the paperwork.

Joint Release: Advocates Applaud Senate Repeal of National Banking Regulator’s Predatory Lending Rule; Urge the House to Act Soon

“The House must now move swiftly to join the Senate and prevent any more rent-a-bank schemes from taking root in the 45 states that cap or otherwise regulate interest rates,” said Linda Jun, senior policy counsel for Americans for Financial Reform.

News Release: New Bank Regulator Leadership Welcome; Congress Still Must Roll Back Rule Promoting Predatory Lending

Advocates welcomed reports that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to appoint a new acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), replacing Blake Paulson, in light of the highly deceptive and false claims that the agency, under Paulson’s leadership, put forward as Congress debates overturning the OCC’s “fake lender” rule.

Letter to Congress: Small Business Advocacy Organization Support CRA Challenge of OCC “True Lender” Rule

Small business advocacy organizations, representing tens of thousands of affiliated small businesses and the interests of the 30 million small businesses in the country, submitted a letter to Congress expressing strong support for Senate Joint Resolution 15, the Congressional Review Act Resolution to repeal the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s True Lender Rule.

Take Action: Congress, Close Loophole That Allows Lenders to Evade State Interest Rate Caps

Legislation, proposed by Sens. Van Hollen and Brown along with Rep. Chuy Garcia of Illinois would rescind the Trump-era rule and reestablish states’ right to protect their residents with interest rate caps.

News Release: Bipartisan Group of 25 State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Repeal OCC “True Lender” Rule

In a rare form of bipartisan agreement, a group of 25 Attorneys General (AGs) sent a letter today to Congressional leadership urging it to “use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to rescind the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) “True Lender” rule in order to “safeguard states’ fundamental sovereign rights to protect their citizens from financial abuse.”