October 7, 2016
 
Latino Leaders Call for Tougher Action on Predatory Lending
NHLA to CFPB: close loopholes in proposed rules for payday lenders
 
Washington, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 of the nation's preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, sent a letter on Friday to Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging his agency to strengthen proposed rules for payday lenders.  
 
Payday loan borrowers, a disproportionate share of which are Latino, are stuck paying exorbitant interest rates and often end up having to take out more loans to cover basic living expenses, ensnaring them in a debt trap that is extremely costly to escape. In its letter, NHLA urges CFPB to close the loopholes in its proposed rules that would still allow payday lenders to extend six loans per year to a single borrower, each at a 400% annual percentage rate.
 
 
“Latino workers struggling to make ends meet for their families should not be preyed upon by an industry based on an unscrupulous business model,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “We are pleased to see that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking steps to address the predatory practices of payday lenders and urge it not to stop short of full protection for the most vulnerable working families in the nation.”
 
“Payday lenders prey on Latinos and other communities of color by setting up shop in their neighborhoods and targeting vulnerable people with predatory products,” said Eric Rodriguez, Vice President of the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation at the National Council of La Raza. “We welcome the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to rein in abusive payday and car title lenders—industries that have gone unregulated for far too long. A strong CFPB rule, without loopholes, will ensure that Latinos and all consumers are protected from the payday loan debt trap.”

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 40 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.



NHLA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

Alianza Americas | American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Avance | Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network | Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute | Cuban American National Council | Farmworker Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Inter-University Program for Latino Research | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | Presente.org | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States Hispanic Leadership Institute | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S.-Mexico Foundation