Center for Responsible Lending

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a "nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization" established in 2002, is "dedicated to protecting homeownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices," its website states. "CRL is affiliated with Self-Help, one of the nation's largest community development financial institutions."

Scope of work
CRL states on its website that its "staff includes attorneys, researchers, and policy analysts in North Carolina, Washington DC, and California who study and report on predatory lending matters and monitor legislative and regulatory activity in state capitols and in the US Congress. CRL's work has five main components:


 * Policy and Technical Assistance: sharing market and legal knowledge with advocates and policymakers across the country interested in reforming lending practices.
 * Research: producing research on predatory lending to inform policymakers, regulators, and others on its extent and impact.
 * Coalition-Building: supporting national and state organizations concerned about predatory lending.
 * Litigation: partnering with other advocates to advance predatory lending litigation and submitting legal briefs on key legal issues.
 * Communications: promoting public awareness and providing a web-based archive of information for local legislators and advocates.

Issues
The following are listed by CRL as issues of concern.
 * 1) Mortgage Lending and Subprime Mortgage Lending in particular.
 * 2) Payday Loans.
 * 3) Overdraft Loans.
 * 4) Car Title Loans.
 * 5) Credit Card Abuses.
 * 6) Refund Anticipation Loans.
 * 7) Mandatory Arbitration.

Staff
The following are members of CRL's Executive Staff.


 * Martin Eakes, Chief Executive Officer
 * Michael Calhoun, President and Chief Operating Officer
 * Stephanie Barnes-Simms, Executive Vice President
 * Keith Corbett, Executive Vice President
 * Deborah Goldstein, Executive Vice President
 * Ellen Schloemer, Executive Vice President
 * George Brown, Senior Vice President
 * Eric Halperin, Director, Washington Office
 * Paul Leonard, Director, California Office

Board of directors
The following are members of CRL's Board of Directors.


 * Edward M. Gramlich (In memoriam)
 * Julian Bond
 * Martin Eakes
 * Wade Henderson
 * Bonnie Howard
 * Don Kidd
 * Nic Retsinas
 * Ira Rheingold
 * Shanna L. Smith

Research advisory council
The following are members of CRL's Research Advisory Council.


 * Eric S. Belsky
 * Raphael Bostic
 * Xavier de Souza Briggs
 * Eileen Diaz McConnell
 * Allen J. Fishbein
 * George Gaberlavage
 * Ira Goldstein
 * Heidi Hartmann
 * Chris Herbert
 * Dan Immergluck
 * Jeffrey Lubell
 * George McCarthy
 * Patricia McCoy
 * Anthony Pennington-Cross
 * Roberto Quercia
 * Ellen Seidman
 * Margery Austin Turner
 * Alan M. White

Contact information
302 West Main Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Phone: 919 956-4400 Fax: 919 313-8595 Website: http://www.responsiblelending.org

Related SourceWatch articles

 * subprime lending

External articles

 * Erika Loveley, "New bills aim to help delinquent borrowers," The Politico, October 23, 2007.

External resources

 * Lobbying Spending Database: Center for Responsible Lending, OpenSecrets: 2003;2004;2005; 2006; 2007; Lobbyist: Locke Liddell Strategies.