Abusive financial practices will only stop if consumers have an effective way to defend themselves.
I say this as the CEO of a loan fund and of a 35-year-old credit union, which have a combined value of $2 billion. Credit unions pride themselves on treating their members fairly, which is why the vast majority of credit unions do not use forced arbitration….
Earlier this year, the CFPB issued a common sense rule that prohibits financial contracts from banning class action lawsuits in looking at credit card contracts, the Consumer Bureau found that only 3 percent (10 out of 304) of credit unions use a forced arbitration clause. By contrast, 60 percent (30 out of 50) of the largest banks were found to employ this pernicious practice.
Some credit unions, such as Directions Credit Union, specifically warn their members about the perils of forced arbitration. Credit unions, which are owned by their members, rely on a brand of fairness and trustworthiness. This brand would be severely weakened if more credit unions started using forced arbitration.
Despite widespread voter support for the rule, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would completely rescind it and again close the courthouse doors.
Senate leadership is rounding up votes to pass the bill and send it to the White House, which has promised to sign it into law. This bill, S.J. Res. 47, must be defeated.
Instead of standing up for deceptive forced arbitration “rip off” clauses, I urge Congress and the president to protect the ability to challenge abusive practices in court.
Martin Eakes is CEO and co-founder of Self-Help, which includes Self-Help Credit Union, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, Self-Help Ventures Fund, and the Center for Responsible Lending.
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