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A National Voice Against Abusive Financial Practices

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is our research and policy affiliate. While Self-Help serves members and communities directly with financial products and services, CRL works to create systemic change and ensure a fair, inclusive financial marketplace that creates opportunities for all.  

As a non-partisan, nonprofit research and policy advocacy organization, CRL works to end predatory lending, and close the racial wealth gap. Below are some highlights from a busy 2023. 

More States Protect Consumers from Predatory Lenders 

For years, CRL has led the fight to eliminate predatory lending nationwide. Last year, CRL worked with local partners to defeat harmful bills that would have expanded payday lending in Florida, Colorado and Minnesota. To date, 20 states (up from 18 in 2022) and the District of Columbia have passed laws to limit and or cap payday lenders and prevent them from imposing predatory interest rates or financing terms which can trap consumers in a continuous cycle of debt. While 20 states joining the fight is impressive, CRL’s work carries on, as these harmful loans remain available in over half of the United States.  

CRL also released their “Debt Trap Drives the Fee Drain” report to highlight how single-payment payday and car-title loans carrying triple-digit interest rates drain more than $2.2 billion each year from borrowers who have an average annual income of about $25,000.  

Protecting Veterans from Unnecessary Foreclosures

Veterans who received mortgage forbearance during the pandemic were supposed to have their missed payments added to the end of their loans. However, the Veterans Administration stopped that practice in 2022, and instead lenders offered these borrowers a choice between a higher monthly payment and foreclosure. CRL worked for months with industry groups and the National Consumer Law Center to push the VA to adopt a better solution for these Veteran borrowers. The VA will implement the new solution in 2024 and, to protect homeowners in the meantime, the VA placed a moratorium on foreclosures. These efforts will save the homes of tens of thousands of veterans. 

Continued Leadership on Student Debt Cancellation

CRL continued to urge support for President Biden’s student debt relief plan, including continuing its lead role in the broad coalition that forged the cancellation plan. CRL helped organize a large demonstration in front of the Supreme Court that included remarks from a half-dozen members of Congress. CRL’s director of federal campaigns Jaylon Herbin was one of several speakers at the event, which generated substantial national media coverage. Listen to Jaylon discuss the implications of the Supreme Court’s consideration of student loan forgiveness on the February 23, 2023 episode of the Newsweek-sponsored Kristal Knight podcast. 

CRL Messaging Brushes Against Pop Culture

We may have hit peak pop culture status in September 2023 when key CRL data had a “social media breakthrough.” This was when Frito-Lay kicked off a campaign featuring Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion and her 7.5 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). The campaign referenced our data on the financial burden of student debt on college graduates, particularly those who attended an HBCU (Historically Black College or University).  

"Everyone deserves to be their Flamin' Hot self, but student loans can create a significant burden on college graduates – especially at HBCUs where students graduate with 19% more debt than those at non-HBCUs," said Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay, citing Center for Responsible Lending data. It’s fun for our friends at CRL to see their data used by a pop culture icon, but what matters is that this information is getting out to the public.