WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new report finding that students face risk when entering into agreements with colleges to spread the upfront cost of tuition into several, interest-free loan payments. The report, which looks at tuition payment plans offered by nearly 450 institutions, finds that many plans have inconsistent disclosures and confusing repayment terms, putting students at risk of missing payments, incurring late fees, and accumulating debt. The report also finds that many institutions withhold transcripts from students as a debt collection tool, a potentially illegal practice that can have severe consequences for students trying to begin their careers or finish their education.
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today kicked off its “SAVE on Student Debt” Week of Action with events across the country from the Department and 100 participating organizations who have a combined reach of more than 18 million Americans.
The Biden administration is making a big push to enroll student loan borrowers in its newest repayment plan before payments resume in October. But headwinds persist with many borrowers reporting troubles with their loan servicers as they seek to sign up.
Rates on 30-year new purchase mortgages gave up 7 basis points Tuesday, lowering the average to 7.70%. That's close to the reading from the previous Tuesday and is 14 basis points cheaper than the historic peak notched later last week. Climbing to 7.84%, Thursday's 30-year average was the highest level recorded since 2001.
A combination of inflation and climbing interest rates seems to be stretching consumers' balance sheets, but it's not clear yet whether they're getting to a breaking point.
Newly released data from WalletHub says U.S. consumers took on $43 billion in additional credit card debt during the second quarter of this year, ending in June. That's more than triple the average amount of new debt households have taken on in that period since after the Great Recession of 2007-08.
.jpg)
.jpg)