Pew Offers Input on Implementation of Virginia’s Fairness in Lending Act

On Jan. 4, 2021, The Pew Charitable Trusts filed a letter commending Virginia’s Bureau of Financial Institutions (BFI) for its effort to establish clear and thorough regulations for implementation of the Fairness in Lending Act of 2020. The law puts in place major consumer financial services reforms, eliminating short-term payday loans, improving consumer protections on vehicle title and other small-dollar loans, reducing customer costs, and preserving widespread access to credit.

Pew’s letter suggested several technical revisions to the draft rules intended to enhance consumer protections and enable responsible lenders to serve customers in the commonwealth and warned that certain fee increases that BFI proposed could end up harming Virginia residents.