Center for Responsible Lending

We are a non-partisan research, analysis and advocacy organization focused on creating #FinancialFairness and economic opportunity for all.

[Julian Bond Institute @JulianBondInst]

By 2050 the communities with the highest entrepreneurial ambition will be the majority of this country. Former JBI President Mitria Wilson-Spotser talks with Shannan Herbert, CEO & President @WACIF about what will it take to meet this moment. #JBIViewpoint https://t.co/GJGgQniD0d

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

New Report - High-cost lenders continue to use out of state #RentaBank partnerships to evade North Carolina interest rate caps and consumer protections, making it harder for households to meet their basic needs and build financial stability. https://t.co/x5YtYeM18b

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

Unaffordable, predatory lending that financially destroys working families and small businesses should have no place in our insured banking system.

[Jason Mikula @mikulaja]

High-APR lender @enova abandons $369 million @grasshopperbank deal, cites regulatory uncertainty, "political pressure and outside advocacy"

Chicago-based Enova announced it is withdrawing its applications to the OCC and the Federal Reserve related to its proposed $369 million deal to acquire of Grasshopper Bank. (Full disclosure, I worked at Enova from 2011-2013). The proposed acquisition was announced in December 2025.

Enova operates multiple consumer and SMB lending brands, including CashNetUSA, NetCredit, and OnDeck, via state licenses and bank lending partnerships.

Rates on its consumer products reach into the triple digits, driving a number of consumer advocacy groups and politicians to publicly oppose the deal. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MA) to the OCC and the Fed this May. A group of 20 state attorneys general followed suit, arguing that granting bank privileges to high-cost lenders like Enova "should be cause for alarm."

Consumer advocacy groups, including the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Consumer Law Center, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the Woodstock Institute, among others, also voiced opposition to the deal.

In a call held yesterday, Enova's CEO, Steven Cunningham, commented on the decision, saying, "[T]he bank application process has not evolved enough to clearly articulate the standards for nonbanks like Enova, who serve customers whose credit needs have traditionally been met mostly outside of the banking system. Without these clearly articulated standards, the process is susceptible to influence political pressure and outside advocacy, independent of the merits of the application itself."

In response to questions on that call, Cunningham emphasized Enova continues to have a strong and diversified funding strategy, and that access to deposit funding was not the primary motivator for the deal.

Cunningham also clarified that neither the Fed nor the OCC took any decision on the applications before them.

Reiterating that there are not "clear guidelines" for such applications from non-traditional lenders like Enova, Cunningham added, "[O]thers have seen these in the past, you face a long, costly, time-consuming back and forth of additional requests or you could face the potential for conditions that fundamentally change your business or you could face flat-out denials in addition to approvals."

Fellow Chicago-area high APR lender OppFi is also in the process of attempting to secure OCC and Fed approval of its proposed acquisition of BNCCORP and its subsidiary, BNC National Bank, in a $130 million deal announced in April 2026.

OppFi has faced similar opposition to its proposed acquisition, and, as of now, the deal remains pending, awaiting regulatory approval.

[Consumer Federation of America @ConsumerFed]

“We applaud Congresswoman Maxine Waters for taking action to increase the Federal Home Loan Banks’ minimum contributions to #AffordableHousing for the first time in more than 35 years" @sjccorn
#FHLBanks

https://t.co/xDgOLmcem9

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

@NAACP “This partnership with the Center for Responsible Lending is about more than exposing harm — it's about pointing families toward real, community-based paths to financial stability and wealth building,” said @KeishaDBross, Director of Opportunity, Race, and Justice, @NAACP.

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

New CRL & @NAACP joint policy brief: How Payday Loan Apps Target Communities of Color — and How to Avoid Them. These apps are marketed as a modern fix for today's affordability crisis, but they recreate the same #DebtTraps as traditional payday lending. https://t.co/J9pAvSsDdL

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

This work builds on the partnership CRL and the @NAACP launched at the 2026 #NAACPConvention, where the two organizations committed to jointly addressing the harms of payday loan apps in Black and Latino communities.

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

URGENT: 2 dangerous bills aim to make it easier for predatory lenders to profit off families in financial distress. Send a letter to the House Financial Services Committee right now urging them to vote NO on #HR7866 and #HR10184.
#StopTheDebtTrap https://t.co/jY11k5PEHN

[NCLC @NCLC4consumers]

H.R. 7866 would end states' ability to enforce their own interest-rate limits on loans made by out-of-state banks. The result would be more financial distress & fewer protections against triple-digit interest rates.

Congress must vote NO on #HR7866. #StopTheDebtTrap @CRLONLINE

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

We're honored to see CRL's Jaylon Herbin in the CBC Power 100 among other dynamic stars in law, politics, business, and medicine. Come meet Jaylon and others from the CRL @SelfHelpCU & @JulianBondInst teams this week at @CBCFinc #CBCF #ALC55 (Booth #711). https://t.co/dN1kUupIC1

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

Join us on Wednesday, September 23 for a discussion with our report authors (Alex Rogers, CRL, Mandy Eidson from @SelfHelpCU, and Dr Tamecia Curry from @CAU) of our findings and a broader conversation about how they can be applied: https://t.co/84VstSb0QF

[Julian Bond Institute @JulianBondInst]

We talked to residents of Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood about the need for tailored, holistic, and community-informed solutions to access financial security and wealth building. The findings serve as a national model for providing more inclusive access. https://t.co/z74HiYf4Ku

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

Like and subscribe!

[Julian Bond Institute @JulianBondInst]

Watch the newest episode of JBI's podcast, the Viewpoint, where we discuss #BuyNowPayLater and the credit reporting agencies with @JPMorgan's Makada Henry-Nickie. Subscribe on your podcast platform: https://t.co/ixkgrSzsx5
#BNPL #JBIViewpoint

[Julian Bond Institute @JulianBondInst]

TOMORROW: Watch for the podcast drop!

[NCLC @NCLC4consumers]

Consumer advocacy groups and Illinois' top law enforcement official are opposing online lender OppFi's plan to obtain a national bank charter — arguing the move would allow it to lock customers into loans at more than 100% APR. #RentaBank
@Suntimes https://t.co/fGZhgeusBo

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

The fact that EarnIn does not call its product a loan does not make it so. Thank you @COAttnyGeneral for working to #StopTheDebtTrap of payday loans.

[Colorado Attorney General @COAttnyGeneral]

Attorney General Weiser today announced a lawsuit against Activehours, Inc., which does business as EarnIn, for illegally providing high cost payday loans to tens of thousands of Colorado consumers: https://t.co/Nava35Bzfh

[Julian Bond Institute @JulianBondInst]

Watch a sneak peek of our next podcast episode! JBI's Sara Weiss discusses #BuyNowPayLater and the credit reporting agencies with @JPMorgan's Makada Henry-Nickie. #BNPL #JBIViewpoint

[NCLC @NCLC4consumers]

“These loans are like poison to people's long-term financial prospects." @CRLMike @CRLONLINE.

“They don’t care if borrowers can afford to fully pay off the loan. They only care about stringing them along long enough to make a profit.” @lsaundersnclc 2/2 https://t.co/qp2z0GHtFP

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

The clock is ticking for more than 7.5 million SAVE borrowers. Deadlines to choose a new repayment plan are approaching, and the decision could affect monthly payments and forgiveness timelines.

Here are 5 things to know: https://t.co/1LdN9rFYYD

#StudentLoans #SAVEplan

[AFR @RealBankReform]

#ICYMI, on Friday, the CFPB announced a move to shield large corporations from public scrutiny by ceasing publication of complaints submitted to the CFPB as well as data that has been critical to holding corporations accountable.

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

.@CRLMike said the following in response to the CFPB's announcement:

[Center for Responsible Lending @CRLONLINE]

The CFPB announced Friday that it was ending publication of complaint narratives. By doing so, the agency is removing an important early-warning tool used to expose abusive and discriminatory financial practices.

#CFPB #ConsumerProtection