News Topic: Small-dollar lending

Despite renewed calls from Democrats looking to USPS to offer banking services, policymakers should instead consider reforms that would permit private-sector firms like Walmart and Amazon to offer a wider array of financial products. ... Read full article

The CFPB issued a final rule late Thursday to delay the compliance date for mandatory underwriting provisions of the 2017 payday lending rule. ... Read full article

Critics have knocked the product, which provides workers access to their wages before payday, as another form of predatory lending. But California has a new bill that would create a legal framework for this short-term lending alternative, and policymakers ... Read full article

Jelena McWilliams said federal bank regulators could begin "within a week or so" to discuss a draft proposal for reforming the Community Reinvestment Act. ... Read full article

The AGs say the agency's plan to rescind ability-to-repay requirements for payday loans would undermine states' ability to enforce their own laws. ... Read full article

The official told lawmakers Thursday that the research underlying the bureau's 2017 payday rule proposal did not support strict underwriting requirements of small-dollar loans. ... Read full article

Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee called for steps to minimize the harm to community banks and credit unions bracing for the new accounting standard. ... Read full article

The Democratic senator's legislation, which has been floated in previous years, would apply to the APRs on all open-end and closed-end consumer credit transactions. ... Read full article

To generate revenue, SoLo Funds depends on consumers willing to front funds through its platform. ... Read full article

In successive speeches, Joseph Otting and Jelena McWilliams expressed hope for a Community Reinvestment Act rule by early next year, and also said regulators should align their small-dollar lending policies. ... Read full article

Assemblywoman Monique Limon is in the “early stages” of exploring how to create a state-level Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as part of a broader push for more consumer protection for state residents. ... Read full article

The bureau had already proposed removing the underwriting portion of the rule, but a judge in Texas has indefinitely delayed the other key component as well. ... Read full article

Recent history shows how dangerous these short-term products can be without appropriate guidelines in place. ... Read full article

The industry cheered the bureau’s proposed repeal of its ability-to-repay requirement, but another part of the rule — on account debit restrictions — was left intact, and some companies aren’t ready to comply. ... Read full article

Events like the recent government shutdown present opportunities for banks to help customers when they need it most. ... Read full article

The agency recently proposed gutting the ability-to-pay standard in its small-dollar loan rule, a move that would benefit the payday loan industry and harm consumers. ... Read full article

The agency has required restitution in just one of six settlements under its new director, raising questions about whether the pattern will continue. ... Read full article

The agency’s proposed changes to its standard for small-dollar loans will help ensure underbanked consumers still have access to credit. Concerns about predatory lending are overstated. ... Read full article