August 12, 2015 By Aaron Weaver DECATUR, Ga. — In the Appalachian foothills of southeast Kentucky, Scarlette Jasper, one of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel, is working to educate others about the debt trap that is predatory lending. Jasper, who was commissioned by CBF in 2014 and serves through the Fellowship’s rural poverty initiative, Together … Continue reading
By Aaron Weaver WASHGINTON, D.C. — Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders joined representatives from a diverse group of faith organizations on Capitol Hill May 14 to launch a coalition to combat predatory payday lending, the short-term loans that carry in excess of 300 percent APR, trapping thousands of families each year in a cycle of debt. … Continue reading
CONTACT: Aaron Weaver, aweaver@cbf.net (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Citing religious texts and evidence of widespread harm to households from high-cost payday loans, a diverse group of faith organizations announced today the formation of a new coalition to combat payday lending and predatory financial practices during a press conference on Capitol Hill. Members of … Continue reading
DECATUR, Ga. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Thursday an outline of federal regulation proposals to end abusive practices in the payday lending industry. The draft set forth would require payday lenders to verify borrowers’ income and expenses before making a loan to determine whether they could reasonably be expected to both pay off … Continue reading
By Aaron Weaver DECATUR, Ga. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today a draft of proposed federal regulations to end abusive practices in the payday lending industry. The draft set forth would require payday lenders to verify borrowers’ income and expenses before making a loan to determine whether they could reasonably be expected to both … Continue reading
Stephen Reeves, CBF’s associate coordinator of partnerships and advocacy, spoke in favor of payday loan reform at a press conference today (Feb. 24) at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. Reeves’ remarks came as part of a two-day conference, Feb. 23-24, on the payday loan debt trap sponsored by the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship in … Continue reading
The Kentucky Baptist Fellowship, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s 18 state/regional organizations, has joined a diverse coalition of faith and nonprofit organizations in backing a bill in the Kentucky legislature to prevent unfair payday loan practices. Read the press release below from the Kentucky Coalition for Responsible Lending. For more information on CBF’s advocacy … Continue reading
December 17, 2014 By Aaron Weaver DECATUR, Ga. — “Stop the payday loan debt trap.” This was the message of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastors to members of Congress during two recent visits to Washington, D.C. These CBF-sponsored advocacy events were held to urge key elected officials to support forthcoming regulations on payday loans by the … Continue reading
Stephen Reeves, CBF’s associate coordinator for advocacy and partnerships, represented the Fellowship recently at a hearing on predatory lending hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read our coverage of this event here. Below you will find the remarks that Reeves gave to the bureau at that field hearing in Nashville on March 25: First, … Continue reading
Stephen Reeves, CBF’s associate coordinator for advocacy and partnerships, testified Tuesday at a hearing on predatory lending of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Tennessean wrote about this public hearing in a helpful article titled “The battle to reform payday lending.” Below is a snippet: Federal regulators are preparing to tackle an overhaul of the … Continue reading