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Archive for the ‘Press Release’ Category

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AFFIL Supports H.R. 3904 and S. 1799

October 28th, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

penguincakesAFFIL and our Partners are sending these letters (House, Senate, both links are PDFs) to the Hill today stating our strong support for overdraft reform.  As we blogged about before, Senator Dodd’s bill (S. 1799) takes dramatic new steps to protect consumers from sneaky overdraft loans.  In response to his action in the Senate, Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced companion legislation in the House which is much stronger than the legislation she previously introduced.

Here’s what the bills would do:

  • limit the number of overdraft fees institutions can charge per month and per year, without preventing them from offering a lower cost alternative if they want to continue charging for overdrafts;
  • require that all overdraft fees be reasonable and proportional to the cost to the institution of processing the transaction;
  • require institutions to obtain consumers’ affirmative consent to fee-based overdraft coverage for debit card and ATM transactions;
  • clarify that overdraft fees are a finance charge under the Truth in Lending Act;
  • require a real-time warning at an ATM before a cash withdrawal would trigger an overdraft fee; and
  • prohibit institutions from reordering transactions to maximize fees.

(Photo: penguincakes)

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Posted in Overdraft Loans, Press Release | 1 Comment »

AFFIL Signs on to Letter Opposing Auto-dealer Exemptions

October 15th, 2009 by Sally Brzozowski

AFFIL recently joined other national advocacy groups in a letter opposing auto-dealer exemptions within the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  You can read the letter here (pdf).

As the letter explains, we stand with our colleagues who believe that auto financing should be regulated by the proposed  Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  Like other non-bank loan products, auto loans and contracts can easily be manipulated to abuse consumers, who we feel have the right to know that they’re getting a fair deal, on and off the car lot.

(Photo: Elmo Alves)

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Posted in Car Financing, Press Release | 2 Comments »

AFFIL Signs on to Testimony Supporting the CFPA

July 14th, 2009 by Sally Brzozowski

(July 14, 2009)  AFFIL joined several of our partners in endorsing  today’s testimony (PDF) before the Senate Banking Committee by Travis Plunkett of the Consumer Federation of America.

Here are two excerpts from what Plunkett told the Senators on the need to support the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as proposed by the Obama administration:

“We believe that, properly implemented, a Consumer Financial Protection Agency will encourage innovation by financial actors, increase competition in the marketplace, and lead to better choices for consumers.”

“[A] strong federal commitment to robust consumer protection is central to restoring and maintaining a sound economy.  The nation’s financial crisis grew out of the proliferation of inappropriate and unsustainable lending practices that could have and should have been prevented.  That failure harmed millions of American families, undermined the safety and soundness of the lending institutions themselves, and imperiled the economy as a whole.”

For more coverage of the need for a Consumer Watchdog Agency, click here and here.

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Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Press Release | No Comments »

AFFIL Supports S. 582, the Interest Rate Reduction Act

June 26th, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(June 26, 2009) AFFIL joined several of our Partners in sending this letter (PDF) to Congress supporting S. 582, the Interest Rate Reduction Act.  The bill was proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders (I, VT) and a companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Maurice Hinchey of New York (H.R. 1640).

S. 582 and H.R. 1640 would cap interest rates at 18%.  Here’s an excerpt from the letter:

The undersigned organizations applaud you for introducing S. 582, the Interest Rate Reduction Act. This bill would extend to all lenders the interest rate caps that have long protected federal credit union members from usurious interest charges.

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Posted in Press Release, Usury | No Comments »

AFFIL to Present Joint Testimony at House Financial Services Committee Hearing Today

June 24th, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(June 24, 2009) AFFIL is one of the organizations presenting this joint testimony (PDF) at a House Financial Services Committee hearing today at 10 am.  The hearing is titled, “Regulatory Restructuring:  Enhancing Consumer Financial Products Regulation,” and will address the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Ed Mierzwinski of US PIRG and Travis Plunkett of the Consumer Federation of America will present the testimony on behalf of AFFIL and twelve other organizations.  You can watch the hearing live on the FS Committee website.

Other consumer advocates who will testify include Kathleen Keest from the Center for Responsible Lending and Harvarad Law Professor Elizabeth Warren (see Professor Warren’s testimony here (PDF)).

Here’s an excerpt from our testimony:

In the testimony we present today, we outline the case for establishment of a robust, independent federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency to protect consumers from unfair credit, payment and debt management products, no matter what company or bank sells them and no matter what agency may serve as the prudential regulator for that company or bank. (more…)

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Posted in Car Title Lending, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Press Release | 1 Comment »

Media Alert: Janne O’Donnell to Attend White House Signing of Credit Card Bill

May 22nd, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(May 22, 2009) Media Contacts:  Roberta Sklar: 917-704-6358, Geoffrey Knox: 212-229-0540

Mother of Son Who Committed Suicide as College Junior and $10,000 in Credit Card Debt To Attend White House Signing Of Credit Card Reform Bill

“I came to Washington ten years ago, after my son Sean committed suicide while in credit card debt, to raise awareness of how credit card companies were preying on our children. Today, we are seeing some reform.”
- Janne O’Donnell

WHEN:        May 22, 2009, 3:00 PM EDT

WHERE:      White House Rose Garden

WHAT:        Janne O’Donnell, a member of the Board of Directors of Americans for Fairness in Lending (AFFIL) will attend today’s Bill Signing for Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act in the White House Rose Garden.

WHY:        The ceremony marks the passage of the nation’s first law reforming credit card lending.  The law will restrict rate increases on existing balances, require fair application of payments, and provide sensible due dates and time to pay.

The law will also protect college students from unscrupulous credit card lenders.  Under the new law, lenders will only be able to issue cards to people under the age of 21 who demonstrate their ability to pay the debt back.  It is designed to prevent students from becoming ensnared in high-interest, high-fee debt, which can have tragic consequences.

WHO:        Janne O’Donnell is the mother is Sean Moyer, a college student who committed suicide on February 7, 1998.  Moyer was a junior at the University of Oklahoma and $10,000 in debt to credit card companies at the time of his death.

“I came to Washington ten years ago, after my son Sean committed suicide while in credit card debt, to try and raise awareness of how credit card companies were preying on our children,” said O’Donnell.  “Finally, thanks to the work of thousands of outraged consumers around the country, and organizations like AFFIL, we are seeing some reform today.  It is wonderful to return to Washington to celebrate this victory.”

Since her son’s death, O’Donnell has worked tirelessly to reform credit card lending to college students.   See http://www.rsok.com/~sean and http://www.affil.org/about/board#Janne.

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Posted in Credit Cards, Press Release | No Comments »

National and state groups urge support for Dodd credit card bill, S. 414

May 12th, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(May 12, 2009)  Update:  AFFIL and many other groups sent this letter (PDF) to the Senate urging support for the Dodd/Shelby credit card substitute (H.R. 627/S. 414).

(May 6, 2009)  AFFIL and many other groups sent this letter (PDF) to the Senate urging their support of S. 414, Senator Dodd’s Credit CARD Act.  The letter states that “the Credit CARD Act of 2009 targets the most abusive practices used by credit card issuers. Many of these practices are not addressed at all or in full by recent credit card rules finalized by federal regulators.”  Read the letter in full here (PDF).

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Posted in Credit Cards, Press Release | 1 Comment »

AFFIL and Partners reiterate support for judicial loan modifications

April 29th, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(April 29, 2009) AFFIL signed on to this letter (PDF) asking the Senate to approve an amendment to the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act.  Here’s an excerpt:

The undersigned consumer, civil rights, labor, faith-based, housing, financial, and community organizations representing tens of millions of Americans strongly urge you to vote for the foreclosure prevention amendment that will be offered by Senator Durbin when the full Senate takes up the House-passed housing bill (“Helping Families Save Their Homes Act”) later this week. Our organizations long have supported legislation to empower bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages on primary residences so as to provide the “stick” financially strapped homeowners desperately need to get their lenders to work with them to prevent avoidable foreclosures. Absent this stick, all the voluntary programs that have been put in place during the last 18 months have failed to produce the modifications necessary to save American families and repair the faltering housing market.

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Posted in Mortgage Lending, Press Release | No Comments »

AFFIL and other groups commend Presidential action on credit cards

April 23rd, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(April 23, 2009)  In the wake of the President’s meeting today with credit card executives, a broad coalition of national consumer groups and nonprofit organizations commended the President for his strong statements in support of curbing abusive practices and urged the Administration to offer specific proposals soon for broad, timely legislative reform.

The groups also applauded passage by the House Financial Services Committee yesterday of the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, championed by Rep. Carolyn Maloney. The Maloney Bill, as well as legislation moving to the Senate Floor sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd, signals a focus on real consumer protections and a welcome change to credit card company business as usual.

As Rep. Maloney’s bill moves to the House floor, we urge the Senate to take up Sen. Dodd’s Credit CARD Act and commit to credit card reform and a fair shake for millions of American cardholders.

See a PDF of the statement.

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Posted in Credit Cards, Press Release | No Comments »

AFFIL and Partners reiterate support for HR 627

April 21st, 2009 by Sarah Byrnes

(April 21, 2009) In anticipation of the full House Financial Services Committee markup of HR 627, the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, AFFIL and our Partners sent this letter (PDF) to members of the committee.  Excerpt:

H.R. 627 rests on the basic rules of fair dealing that Americans expect everyone to play by. It curbs some of the most arbitrary, abusive, and unfair credit card lending practices that trap consumers in an un-ending cycle of costly debt. These tricks and traps have always been unfair, but they produce devastating financial repercussions in times of economic difficulty. Working families are particularly hard hit as they are paying more each year in unreasonable fees and credit card interest.

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Posted in Credit Cards, Press Release | No Comments »

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