The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency set up to protect consumers but has been neutered by Trump and other financial agencies, are telling banks they can practice “responsible small-dollar lending” or payday loans in areas affected by the coronavirus.
“This is the worst possible time for banks to make predatory payday loans,” said a group of consumer organizations including the National Consumer Law Center and the NAACP. “Government regulators have opened the door for banks to exploit people, rather than to help them.”