Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Defends Borrowers from Illegal High-Cost Loans FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 28, 2017 || Contacts: Lauren Saunders ([email protected]); Jan Kruse ([email protected]) 617.542.8010 Online Lenders Attempted to Collect 440% to 950% APR Loans that Were Illegal in Many States Washington, DC – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) yesterday took action against four tribally affiliated online payday installment lenders for deceiving consumers and collecting debt that was not legally owed in many states because the loans exceeded state interest rate caps or because the lenders were unlicensed. Under the law of those states, the illegal loans were void and could not be collected. The four online lenders – Golden Valley Lending, Inc., Silver Cloud Financial, Inc., Mountain Summit Financial, Inc., and Majestic Lake Financial, Inc. – made $300 to $1200 long-term payday installment loans with annual percentage rates (APRs) from 440% to 950%. The CFPB charged that the loans violated licensing requirements or interest-rate caps – or both – that made the loans void in whole or in part in at least 17 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Dakota. While some of those states permit short-term payday loans, all but New Mexico and Ohio limit the interest rates for long-term loans, according to a report by the National Consumer Law Center, and most of the states (including New Mexico and Ohio) limit interest rates for unlicensed lenders or void loans by unlicensed lenders. (South Dakota voters adopted a 36% interest rate cap after the NCLC report was published and Connecticut and New Hampshire also adjusted their rates.) “High-cost loans, whether short-term payday loans or long-term payday loans, put people in a cycle of debt. State interest rate caps are a critical consumer protection, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is defending families against predatory lenders,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center. All of the lenders are owned and incorporated by the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake Indian Tribe located in Upper Lake, California. The lenders claimed that only tribal law, not state law, applied to the loans. However, in 2014, the Supreme Court made clear that tribes “’going beyond reservation boundaries’ are subject to any generally applicable state law.’” The loans to the borrowers were not made on the California reservation. “Predatory lenders can’t evade state loan protections by hiding behind a tribe,” said Saunders. The CFPB alleges that the four lenders made electronic withdrawals from consumers’ bank accounts or called or sent letters to consumers demanding payment for debts that consumers were under no legal obligation to pay, violating not only state law but also the federal law against unfair, deceptive and abusive practices. The CFPB is the consumer watchdog that was created in 2010 after the financial crisis to protect American consumers from unscrupulous financial practices. Read the full release from the CFPB here. Statement of National Consumer Law Center’s Lauren Saunders Regarding the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 26, 2017 || Contacts: Lauren Saunders ([email protected]), Stephen Rouzer ([email protected]), or Jan Kruse ([email protected]) Bill would promote Wall Street’s interests while exposing American families to financial, health and safety threats Washington – Legislation introduced in Congress today, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, would favor Wall Street and other industry interests over protections for the American public, according to advocates at the National Consumer Law Center. “This bill would rig the system in favor of Wall Street banks and companies that have dangerous products, making it easier for them to block rules that protect the public from abusive financial practices and health and safety threats,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center. “The Regulatory Accountability Act would add to government bureaucracy, imposing unnecessary costs and delays before regulations could be enacted to address dangerous practices. The bill guarantees that government will be dramatically slower, more costly to taxpayers, and far less effective at protecting Americans from dangerous and abusive health, safety or financial practices,” she added. “The 60-page bill is deliberately complicated. But the bottom line is that the Regulatory Accountability Act would hamstring federal agencies from doing their job to serve the American public. We urge Congress to reject this bad bill and to stand up for public protections,” Saunders concluded. The RAA was introduced today by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Heidi Keitkamp (D-ND). An analysis of a similar bill introduced in the House of Representatives is here. ### Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has worked for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people, including older adults, in the U.S. through its expertise in policy analysis and advocacy, publications, litigation, expert witness services, and training. www.nclc.org Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Goes to Bat for Military Families Again FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 26, 2017 || Contacts: Lauren Saunders ([email protected]) or Jan Kruse ([email protected]); 617.542.8010 Auto lender specializing in loans to servicemembers is fined $1.25 million Washington, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Security National Automotive Acceptance Company (SNAAC), an auto lender with headquarters in Ohio and operating in more than two dozen states that specializes in loans to servicemembers, for violating a CFPB consent order. In 2015, the CFPB ordered SNAAC to pay penalties for illegal debt collection tactics, including making threats to contact servicemembers’ commanding officers about debts and exaggerating the consequences of not paying. SNAAC violated the 2015 order by failing to provide more than $1 million in refunds and credits, affecting more than 1,000 consumers. The consent order requires SNAAC to make good on the refunds and credits it owes and pay an additional $1.25 million penalty. “This ruling is the latest in a long line of actions that the CFPB, through its Office of Servicemember Affairs, has taken to protect the financial well-being of those who serve our country,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center. Saunders discusses the “consumer watchdog’s” record looking out for servicemembers and veterans in USA Today. SNAAC, based in Mason, Ohio, is an auto-finance company that operates in more than two dozen states and specializes in loans to servicemembers, primarily to buy used vehicles. In June 2015, the CFPB sued SNAAC for aggressive collection tactics against consumers who fell behind on their loans. If servicemembers lagged behind on payments, SNAAC’s collectors would threaten to contact—and in many cases did contact—their chain of command about their debts. Also, the company exaggerated the consequences of not paying. For instance, they told some consumers that failure to pay could result in action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, demotion, discharge, or loss of security clearance. That same year, a CFPB consent order found that SNAAC had engaged in unfair and deceptive acts and practices while collecting on these auto loans. The order required SNAAC to pay $2.275 million in consumer redress through credits and refunds, and a $1 million civil penalty. Acting on a tip from a servicemember’s father, the CFPB discovered that SNAAC had issued worthless “credits” to hundreds of consumers and failed to provide proper redress to many more. The CFPB’s consent order is available at: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201704_SNAAC-consent-order.pdf ### Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has worked for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people, including older adults, in the U.S. through its expertise in policy analysis and advocacy, publications, litigation, expert witness services, and training. www.nclc.org Statement of National Consumer Law Center’s Lauren Saunders on Introduction of Wrong Choice Financial Reform Rollback Legislation FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 26, 2017 || Contacts: Lauren Saunders ([email protected]); Jan Kruse ([email protected]) or 617.542.8010 (WASHINGTON) House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex), has announced that the Committee will hold a hearing today to discuss the introduction of sweeping legislation that would repeal essential financial reforms passed under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as longstanding financial protections that go back decades. Also today, the National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients, sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives strongly opposing the misnamed Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, noting that “it is breathtaking in its assault on ordinary Americans, responsible companies who want a level playing field, and safeguards for the economy as a whole.” Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, made the following statement: “The Wrong CHOICE Act introduced by Rep. Hensarling