National Consumer Law Center

06/10/2026

On Friday June 5, the Russell Vought-led Consumer Financial Protection ( ) issued a statement advising lenders to consider a borrower’s immigration status in assessing their ability to pay mortgage or credit card loans.

The statement advises lenders that the Truth in Lending Act’s ability-to-repay requirements may obligate them to consider immigration status, especially where removal from the United States may disrupt the consumer’s income. However, the statement is only advisory and even states that “it has no legally binding effect."

“This statement does not and cannot change existing law, which means it cannot impose a hard-and-fast requirement that lenders consider immigration status,” said Alys Cohen, director of housing advocacy and acting co-director of federal advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). “Ironically, in May 2025, the Vought-led CFPB criticized the last Bureau administration for using non-binding guidance.”

New CFPB Advisory Telling Banks To Consider Immigration Status Does Not Create a New Legal Requirement

06/08/2026

"The Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency should continue to uphold the standards of national banks and reject these unprecedented applications," said Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending. "Any action on Enova's and OppFi's applications must uphold the basic requirement that national banks provide fair, affordable loans and make explicit that harmful high-cost lending cannot be housed in a national bank charter." via American Banker

Applications from Enova International and Opportunity Financial for national bank charters present a danger to consumers. The Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency should block them.

06/05/2026

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞! Join us online for expert-led sessions on need-to-know topics and pressing issues facing vulnerable homeowners in 2026.

Essential Sessions Include:

• Intro to Mortgage Servicing
• Zombie Second Mortgage Update
• Loss Mitigation Update
• Ethics in Fair Lending

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲!

Join us virtually for expert-led sessions on need-to-know topics and pressing issues facing vulnerable homeowners in 2026.

06/05/2026

As renters struggle to cobble together cash for the upfront costs needed to sign a lease, financial technology firms are promoting alternative tools to manage a common pain point: security deposits.

These options are useful in the short term because they help keep cash in your pocket, but they do not replace the function of a security deposit. If your landlord files a damage claim during your lease, none of the fees paid to the alternative services apply toward those costs. In this way, the services may offer fewer tenant protections and can even end up costing renters more, new research from NCLC found.

Millions of renters use the services. “They’re quite widespread,” said April Kuehnhoff, a senior lawyer at the center and an author of the report. “Essentially, they are designed to provide landlords the benefits of the security deposit” while avoiding the costs of complying with tenant protection laws. The New York Times

Read NCLC's report: https://www.nclc.org/resources/tenant-insecurity-how-security-deposit-alternatives-raise-tenants-costs-and-erode-their-protections/

Third-party services charge fees to help renters bypass some upfront costs of signing a lease. Unlike traditional deposits, the money won’t be returned to tenants.

06/04/2026

The deletion of the bureau’s website content, which was first reported by Bloomberg, is just the most recent part of a larger plan to “undermine an agency that’s helped people”, said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America.

“[The CFPB have] rebalanced the odds between big banks and regular people,” Rust said. “But industry doesn’t like the mission, and Russell Vought has implemented their wishes to undermine it.” The Guardian

Deletion of the bureau’s website content is just the most recent part of a larger plan to ‘undermine an agency that’s helped people’

06/04/2026

Our own Herb "The Consumerman" Weisbaum, Consumerpedia host and Checkbook contributing editor, moderated an important panel at the Consumer Federation of America's annual Consumer Assembly today: “Why Does Everything Feel Like a Ripoff?”

From dark patterns to outright scams, consumer manipulation is creating real anxiety for everyday Americans. The panelists, all experts from CFA, dove into how deception shapes what we buy, what we pay, and how much we trust the marketplace.

Have you felt like you were being manipulated or taken advantage of as a consumer recently? Tell us in the comments. 👇

🎧 Want an easy to way to protect yourself? Subscribe to our Consumerpedia podcast for practical consumer advice that will empower you to save money and make smarter choices.

06/03/2026

"While HEI loans can provide access to cash based on accrued home equity, they present significant risks to homeowners, including large balloon payments and other costs, home loss, limits on future housing options, and interference with many of the rights of homeownership," writes Alys Cohen, Director of Federal Housing Advocacy and Acting Co-Director of Federal Advocacy at NCLC in New America's The Rooftop blog.

Without protections, these Home Equity Investment loans will cause housing instability and financial loss for families across the nation.

Subscribe to The Rooftop to receive new posts as they’re published: https://www.newamerica.org/collections/the-rooftop/

Alys Cohen writes about Home Equity Investment Loans, a predatory mortgage loan product that is quickly scaling across the nation.

06/03/2026

Since the Trump Administration and Congress’s decision to roll back limits on overdraft and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees, many of the country’s largest banks have begun to ratchet up their overdraft fee take. Overall, struggling families paid over $12 billion in overdraft and NSF fees in 2025.

A new report from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) outlines steps states can take to limit fees and abusive practices imposed on the people who can least afford them. A new issue brief analyzes the 2025 overdraft fee revenue of the 20 largest consumer banks and spotlights several in the “Overdraft Hall of Shame.”

With Federal Protections Rolled Back, States Can Take Action as Banks Increasingly Charge Struggling Families Overdraft Fees

06/02/2026

A 2023 study found workplace payday loan borrowers took out an average of 27 loans per year, and some take over 100 loans a year! Workers shouldn't have to pay to be paid.

Paying to get paid leads to more overdrafts while loan stacking from multiple apps is common.

We're in DC to tell Congress to reject plans to spread these loans far and wide.

06/02/2026

The Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act harms servicemembers by exempting payday loan apps from the Military Lending Act’s 36% rate cap. And it worsens the affordability crisis for everyone. We're on Capitol Hill urging Congress to reject it.

The core purpose of the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act bill is to greenlight payday loan apps' business model -- to exploit & extract hundreds of dollars from low-wage workers. Congress should say "no way."