"This crisis will shape the lives of millions of borrowers and the health of our economy for decades to come.”

Ashley Harrington testifying at the hearing, "A $1.5 Trillion Crisis: Protecting Student Borrowers and Holding Student Loan Servicers Accountable." (Begins at 32:11) Behind Ashley, Nikitra Bailey, Julia Barnard, and Vincenza Previte can also be seen.

Understanding how consumer lending occurs is foundational to remedying the student loan crisis. In September, CRL testified before the full House Financial Services Committee with common sense solutions specified in our recent report, Quicksand: Borrowers of Color and the Student Debt Crisis. 

A new poll shows that voters across political parties overwhelmingly oppose the CFPB's rollback of student loan protections.

Administration Threatens Housing Protections

CRL pressed the CFPB this summer to preserve widespread access to safe and sustainable mortgage loans as the agency considers changes to the qualified mortgage and ability-to-repay rule, a critical reform emanating from the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

For families of color, a home is more than a house, it is the economic equity engine critical to closing the racial wealth gap. So why would HUD reverse its own fair housing rule? CRL and Self-Help Credit Union leaders highlight the importance of disparate impact as a correction to curb historic racism in housing. Our October 18 comment on the proposed rule demands that HUD not attempt to fix what isn’t broken. Our faith partners also lift up HUD's moral obligation to ensure all tools remain available to root out discrimination in housing and lending.

Mike Calhoun testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, “Chairman’s Housing Reform Outline: Part 2.” Also shown, Melissa Stegman and Keith Corbett.

Payday Lenders’ Investment Pays Off – For Now

October marks the implementation date of the CFPB's payday lending rule for which CRL and its allies—with bipartisan popular support—secured an end to $8 billion in unjustified annual fees payday lenders charge borrowers. The agency under the current administration reopened this rule only to be confronted by powerful state and federal coalition mobilization culminating in a formal comment letter.

Source: Lake Research Partners/Chesapeake Beach Consulting poll conducted of 1,000 likely voters between July 15-23, 2019.

States Take On Financial Reform

CRL revealed the striking multigenerational impact of North Carolina’s $44 billion student loan debt burden while finding that its thriving and highly-ranked state HBCUs are underfunded and enroll students who often borrow more to attend them. A Q&A on WNCU Radio was one of many news outlets that covered this release.

Costly for-profit colleges consistently yield poor outcomes for students of color and women. How do things look in your state?

302 West Main Street,
Durham, NC 27701

910 17th Street NW Suite 500,
Washington, DC 20006

1970 Broadway Suite 350,
Oakland, CA 94612