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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The installment lender, which bills itself as an alternative to payday lenders, targets underserved communities and operates through a network of retail partners.
