A New York Times editorial yesterday encouraged that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau use its enforcement powers to put an end to abusive car loans. The editorial begins:
Auto loans have long been a bastion of predatory lending and racial discrimination. Until the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established, auto lending by banks was only lightly regulated, and lending by nonbank finance companies escaped federal regulation altogether. Greater scrutiny of banks by the bureau since 2013 has resulted in fines totaling $18 million and in payments totaling $136 million to 425,000 black, Hispanic and Asian borrowers who were charged higher auto-loan interest rates than comparable white borrowers.
The editorial concludes: "The consumer agency, having rightly asserted its authority over nonbank auto lending, must now use its enforcement powers to put an end to abusive car loans."
The full editorial is here.
