News

2019

December

13

• Regulators propose overhaul of anti-redlining law. The proposal is another big win for the banking industry. Advocates say it could lead to fewer loans for low- and moderate-income borrowers.

• Are student loans the next mortgage crisis?. Mike Calhoun, who runs the nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending, sees many similarities between the 2007-2008 mortgage crisis and today’s student loans. The latest student loan debt statistics show that there are approximately 45

12

• Community Reinvestment Act cheat sheet. The OCC and FDIC’s sweeping proposal to reform how they implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) would maintain in part the physical component of assessment areas while introducing a new "50%-5%"

11

• Six books to help you meet your financial resolutions in 2020. You are already promising yourself that 2020 is the year of financial freedom. But where do you start to help your New Year’s resolutions stick? When it comes to your personal finances, reading is

10

• Student loans a lot like the subprime mortgage debacle. Mike Calhoun is a man on a mission. He's flying around the country, warning state lawmakers and prosecutors, sounding the alarm at conferences, and with members of Congress. He did the same thing back

09

• PG&E reaches $13.5 billion settlement with CA wildfire victims. Pacific Gas & Electric on Friday announced it had reached a multibillion-dollar settlement with victims of wildfires that killed dozens of people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes across Northern California.

06

• Bank regulators urge 'responsible use' of alternative lending data. Lenders and regulators are looking at how data beyond a basic credit score could be used to improve underwriting practices, for example by analyzing bank accounts, utility bills, level of education and employer information.

05

• My adult child built a good credit score in 3 months. If you plan it right, you can help your children build good credit profiles just in time to qualify for a loan or lease starting out as young adults without needing a co-signer.

02

• Consumer Action INSIDER - December 2019. The December 2019 issue of the Consumer Action INSIDER announces Wells Fargo's funding of Consumer Action's innovative new FinTech initiative to help underserved consumers reach their financial goals; gives an overview of our latest Consumer Action News edition on the prescription drug affordability crisis; informs readers of what action to take if their college has been closed and they still owe student loan debt (particularly if it was a predatory for-profit school); updates readers on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's work; and more.

November

26

• Forgiving student debt would boost economy, economists say. The effects would go beyond the housing market. William Foster is a vice president with Moody's, which just did a report on student debt forgiveness. "There've been some estimates that U.S.

25

• How to keep pets from destroying your stuff. There’s a ton of gear out there that keeps pets from scratching, marking, or chewing on the wrong things. Yet deterrents alone won’t keep a pet owner’s belongings in

23

• Consumer watchdog downplaying a major Obama-era tool. The director of the country’s primary consumer watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), downplayed the role of the complaint database in its operations and even its utility as a major tool at

22

• Lawmaker seeks details about problems with Wells Fargo checking accounts. Bank may have collected “hundreds of millions” in extra fees because of confusion over rules on two checking accounts, a lawmaker says.

21

• Are transit-oriented developments the answer to the affordable housing?. KLEO Art Residences is what’s known as a transit-oriented development (TOD), so named for providing high-density housing near bus or rail lines, often accompanied by limited parking and taller height than otherwise would

• Long Island divided: An investigation into real estate discrimination. In one of the most concentrated investigations of discrimination by real estate agents in the half century since enactment of America’s landmark fair housing law, Newsday found evidence of widespread separate and unequal

20

• Police can keep Ring camera video forever, share with anyone. Police officers who download videos captured by homeowners’ Ring doorbell cameras can keep them forever and share them with whomever they’d like without providing evidence of a crime, the Amazon-owned firm told

19

• Retirement planning is a guessing game. One of the most frustrating things about retirement planning is making assumptions about a future you can’t control.

14

• Realtors association bans “pocket listings”. The National Association of Realtors board of directors voted 729-70 to ban the controversial practice of “pocket listings.” It’s a practice that was surging in competitive markets such as New York,

11

• How the algorithms running your life are biased. Software programs don’t just recommend books and movies you might like: they also determine the interest rate you’ll pay on a loan, whether you land a dream job and even the

08

• Airbnb CEO pledges to verify all 7 million listings. Airbnb announced several measures to bolster trust and protect the safety of its users better. The news followed the deaths of five people after a shooting at an “Airbnb mansion party” in California