News

2021

March

26

• Biden administration to help Black farmers. The initiative, which is being run through the Agriculture Department, is at the center of the White House’s racial equity agenda.

25

• Illinois caps rates at 36%, adopts state-level CRA. The anti-predatory-lending law with a 36% rate cap, which takes effect immediately, applies across all consumer loan categories. Auto title loans in Illinois currently have an average annual percentage rate of 179%, and payday loans have an

• CFPB’s new team has a message for banks it regulates: We’re back. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already sending a message that it’s getting tougher. On-site examinations are up, banking executives tell consultants. Big banks aren’t the only businesses likely to get

• Settlement with Liberty Bank in lawsuit alleging racial bias. Under the agreement, Liberty Bank will expand its Good Neighbor Mortgage Loan Program, making an additional $10 million available to borrowers at below-market mortgage rates. In addition, it will set aside $300,000 in subsidies to promote home

24

• Stimulus debit cards: What you need to know. Here are some answers to questions you may have about the delivery of stimulus payments by check or debit card.

• Biden to reassert consumer watchdog agency sidelined by Trump. Biden's administration has pinpointed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a tool to help deliver on promises to address systemic racial inequality.

• The CFPB has a message for the banks it regulates: We're back. With a new boss on the way, the consumer protection agency is knocking on doors and asking tough questions.

23

• White House prepares massive infrastructure bill. President Biden’s proposal is expected to center on infrastructure spending, with hundreds of billions of dollars to repair the nation’s roads, bridges, waterways and rails. It also includes funding for retrofitting

22

• Your home's value is based on racism. Wherever they choose to buy, Black people are penalized by white preferences.

• Black women passed over for state and local jobs at higher rates. A new report revealed that Black women are less likely to be hired than their counterparts when applying for State and local government positions.

20

• What to do if you suspect housing discrimination. First, experts say, look for telltale signs: being put off when trying to view homes in neighborhoods where you’re a minority; being shown homes exclusively in neighborhoods where you’re in the

19

• How to clean up your credit report. Consumer Reports and other consumer advocacy organizations, including Americans for Financial Reform, Consumer Action, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center and USPIRG, have partnered to launch the Consumer Credit Checkup

18

• Treasury ramps up racial equity review as It deploys relief funds. The Treasury Department is moving ahead with a formal racial equity review of the agency and its programs, putting in place an effort to ensure that economic fairness is prioritized throughout the Biden administration as

• Lender sued thousands of low-income Latinos during pandemic. This month the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began investigating Oportun’s debt collection practices, which include suing thousands of low-income borrowers in California during and prior to the pandemic. An investigation last summer

17

• IRS has distributed 90 million direct deposit stimulus payments. IRS has sent out 90 million direct deposit stimulus payments. Here's how to check when yours will arrive.

16

• The IRS is behind in processing nearly 7 million tax returns. Nearly 7 million tax filers are in limbo and facing substantial delays in getting refunds, as the Internal Revenue Service struggles to keep up with the demands of issuing stimulus checks and implementing a myriad of

• California sues nursing home chain for manipulating ratings. The lawsuit, filed by the state attorney general and other prosecutors, accuses Brookdale Senior Living of gaming Medicare’s ubiquitous star-rating system.

15

• Tenant screening software faces national reckoning. Marco Antonio Fernandez, returned home after a yearlong Navy deployment in South Korea and searched for an apartment.  Fernandez, whose national security work had already earned him a top-secret clearance, had little to worry

12

• Stimulus will cover seven months of rent for some, less than one for others. Congress passed a $1.9 trillion spending package that President Biden signed Thursday. Americans can expect $1,400 or more — the largest stimulus payments yet — in addition to an expanded child tax credit, unemployment insurance and many

• Preguntas frecuentes sobre el estímulo, el desempleo y las devoluciones de impuestos. Respondemos las dudas más comunes sobre el plan de rescate de Estados Unidos.