With legislation to roll back consumer protections and gut the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act expected to be discussed by the House as early as this week, several states are urging lawmakers to reject the legislation. [More]
lending
77-Year-Old Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty To Conning Customers Out Of $8.2M
By 4.27.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
A Pennsylvania insurance agent could spend more than five years in prison after pleading guilty for his part in a scheme that swindled millions of dollars from customers. [More]
Most Americans Favor Payday Loan Reforms
By 4.19.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Despite claims from the payday loan industry that Americans don’t want reforms intended to prevent borrowers of these short-term loans from falling into a revolving debt trap, two new reports show that most people do think it’s time to rein in payday lending and provide more affordable loan options for borrowers in need. [More]
Payday Loan Operator MoneyTree Latest Company To Fall For CEO Email Scam
By 3.16.16
Employees of payday lending company Moneytree are used to taking the personal information of customers in exchange for short-term cash infusions. Some of those workers recently found themselves on the other side of the fence after someone at the company fell for the CEO email scam. [More]
Facebook Is Not The Great Predictor Of Creditworthiness It Was Hoped To Be
By 2.24.16
Not so long ago, a new batch of lenders got the idea that they could gauge a consumer’s credit risk from the data collected by Facebook. The social media company even patented a system for how to use data on an applicant’s Facebook friends to determine whether or not they were worth offering a loan to. And yet, so far, nothing seems to have come of these concepts. [More]
HSBC Must Pay $470M For Alleged Abusive Loan Practices
By 2.5.16
Thousands of homeowners who lost their homes or had their loans modified will receive a portion of a $470 million federal-state settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC to settle allegations the bank engaged in origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses. [More]
Lending Startups Use Borrowers’ Smartphone Behavior To Decide If They Are Creditworthy
By 12.1.15
The wallet-sized – or larger – smartphone constantly tethered to your hand may often be seen as your connection to the outside world. Each time you surf the web, connect with friends, make purchases and check your bank account, it’s collecting mountains of data about you. And that data could soon be analyzed to determine if you’re creditworthy. [More]
![The process for Facebook loan approval. [Click To Enlarge]](../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/screen-shot-2015-08-05-at-9-32-15-am.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Facebook Patent Would Allow Lenders To Determine Creditworthiness By Looking At Your ‘Friends’
By 8.5.15
Earlier this year Facebook announced it would dip its toes into the pool of mobile payments by launching a system that allowed users to send money to friends via the Messenger app. Now it appears the company may take things a bit farther after receiving approval for a patent this week that would allow creditors to determine whether or not someone is worthy of a loan based on their circle of friends on the social networking site. [More]
Abusive Lending Practices Can Lead To Negative Long-Term Consequences For Borrowers, Communities
By 6.16.15
Every year, more than 12 million Americans spend $17 billion on payday loans, despite the fact research has shown these costly lines of credit often leave borrowers worse off. Yet abusive lending practices are not relegated to borrowers in need of a couple hundred dollars to stay afloat until their next paycheck; there are mortgages, car loans, and other traditional lines of credit that can leave the borrower in a bind. Even if you never find yourself on the wrong end of a predatory loan, these products can still be a drain on your entire community. [More]
Outline For Payday Lending Rules A Good Start, But Not Enough To Fully Protect Consumers
By 3.26.15
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the first details of long-awaited regulations governing payday loans and other small-dollar lines of credit known to thrust consumers into a devastating cycle of debt. While consumer advocates were quick to applaud the Bureau’s work, and those in the financial industry to voice displeasure with aspects of the potential rules, both groups agreed that the coming months will involve more time and effort to craft meaningful protections for both sides of the issue. [More]
Professor Tries, Fails To Defend Payday Lending As Legitimate Form Of Credit
By 1.16.13
Most regular readers of Consumerist know that we’re not exactly fans of payday loans, which charge upwards of 25 times the interest of a high-interest credit card and hundreds of times the interest on a standard loan. And yet, there are people — well-educated people at that — who stick with the argument that payday loans are a good thing. [More]
California Goes Gangbusters Against Abusive Lending, Passes Sweeping Foreclosure-Protection Law
By 7.3.12
Hey, rest of the country that isn’t California! This is how you do it: California legislators went ahead and approved a sweeping bill on Monday that is basically a homeowner bill of rights, including ending abusive practices by mortgage lenders while at the same time helping homeowners evade the abyss of foreclosure. California ain’t kidding around. [More]
Have A Private Student Loan Horror Story? Today Is The Last Day To Tell The CFPB
By 1.17.12
We see enough horror stories about private student loans that we know there must be quite a few of them out there. If you’d like to contribute to the public good by sharing your experience, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would like to hear what you have to say. And if you actually had a good experience the CFPB would like to hear about that, too. [More]
How To Handle Lending Money To Loved Ones
By 12.22.11
Lending money to a significant other, close friend or family member is an excellent way to hang a black cloud over your relationship, but sometimes it’s the only financial maneuver that makes sense. Be smart by treating the transaction just as formally as you would one with a financial institution. [More]
Mafia Money Laundering Filling In For Banks That Aren't Lending
By 7.21.10
Where do you go when you have a legitimate business that can’t get credit from a bank? The mafia, says the Bank of Italy. [More]
25 Percent Of American Consumers Now Have Low Credit Scores
By 7.12.10
Before the recession hit, roughly 15% of Americans had FICO credit scores below 600. But after the past couple of years of late payments, defaults, and foreclosures, that number has grown to 25%, or about 43 million people. At the same time, the number of people with excellent scores (800 to 850) has increased nearly 5% from pre-recession average, which the Associated Press says is partly a result of people cutting spending and working to pay off loans more quickly. [More]
Arizona Becomes 16th State To Punch Payday Lenders In The Face
By 6.27.10
Arizona is about to say goodbye to predatory payday lenders who issue loans with annual interests exceeding 460%. On Thursday a decade-old law will expire, capping interest rates at 36%. The predatory lenders begged to keep the law in force, but voters and the legislature just sat back and gave the industry a big, slow, deserved punch right in the face. [More]
New Law: All Students To Borrow Directly From Federal Government
By 3.30.10
President Obama signed the last piece of the health care legislation today — but it wasn’t actually health care legislation — it was, instead, an overhaul of the federal student lending operation. All students getting federal student aid will now borrow directly from the federal government instead of sometimes having to go through a subsidized private lender. [More]
