As borrowers faced spiking loan bills under OBBBA, financial aid officers drank champagne from a literal aerial dancer at a conference co-sponsored by private student lenders. This is Trump’s new student loan market—private lenders expecting a big payday on the backs of borrowers.

Tmrw, the Senate HELP Committee votes on a bill that would make it even easier for private student lenders (with a history of cheating students) to land on schools' preferred lists with less oversight, not more. More on the State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act on Substack.

Imagine a loan where: • 1/2 of borrowers missed a payment in the last year • 2/3 have subprime credit • Penalty fees can rival a 200% APR Sounds like a payday loan? It's actually a Buy Now, Pay Later loan… and they’re everywhere. More from Protect Borrowers' Jenn Zhang on Substack:🧵:

Student loan defaults are at an all-time high & still climbing. “Folks are struggling to make ends meet & cover all the rising costs... growing student loan bills are making things worse and folks are falling behind.” - Aissa Canchola Bañez, @protectborrowers.bsky.social Via @apnews.com:

What keeps someone in the fight for consumer protection? In our first in a series of Roosevelt Society profiles, Jennifer Zhang reflects on her path from the Roosevelt Network to the CFPB and @protectborrowers.bsky.social, why student debt matters, and what keeps her hopeful:

Inside the Fight for Consumer Protection: Q&A with Jennifer Zhang

Jennifer Zhang discusses student debt, consumer protection, and her journey from the Roosevelt Network to the CFPB and Protect Borrowers.

rooseveltinstitute.org

Americans are going into debt just to eat... and Congress is making it worse, instead of better. New Substack from @markhuelsman.bsky.social on In Debt: https://indebt.substack.com/p/let-them-eat-credit

Trump’s OBBBA just made unprecedented cuts to the federal student loan system. @protectborrowers.bsky.social, @aft.org, NAACP, and a broad coalition just launched “One Big Bill”—a borrower story gathering campaign to document the financial harm of OBBBA on families with student debt.

We released a new @dataforprogress.org poll on Buy Now, Pay Later loans: 📊 Nearly 4 in 10 respondents (& nearly 6 in 10 under age 45) have used BNPL 📊 Many used their loans for essentials like groceries (46%) Voters across party lines support regulating the BNPL industry. Poll👇

The Trump-Vance Admin tried to weaponize Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Federal judges struck it down. The rule would've blocked cancellation for public service workers doing work that goes against the Admin's political agenda. Now the rule will not take effect for anyone, anywhere.

“It’s a vicious cycle.” @aft.org member Ashley Reed had to use Buy Now, Pay Later loans for necessities after maxing out her credit cards to cover medical expenses for her mom. Ashley is not alone—our new @dataforprogress.org poll shows 46% of BNPL users have used BNPL for groceries.

NEW: We just released findings from the most comprehensive investigation to date on the growing Buy Now, Pay Later market. What we found is alarming. Nearly half of BNPL users have missed a payment. BNPL late fees can rival payday loans with 200% APR. And more.

At a recent event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we released new data w/ @AFTNM showing 4 in 5 surveyed educators & public employees in NM cannot save money or are getting deeper into debt. The growing debt & affordability crises harm families & their local communities nationwide.

@frost.house.gov called on CFPB to protect renters by investigating Rent Now, Pay Later companies & holding them accountable for potential law violations. Predatory creditors are harming families by using these short-term, high-cost loans to profit off of driving them into debt.

Starting on July 1, servicers were supposed to start sending notices to SAVE borrowers that they’ll have 90 days to switch plans. Check out our own Amy Czulada's blog to learn: 👉 Which plans are still available to borrowers 👉 Where borrowers can get help if they have issues Read the blog👇

Today the “One Big Ugly Bill” Act's unprecedented cuts to higher ed and student loans go into effect See Mary Cunningham's CBS MoneyWatch article below for what students and borrowers need to know.

New @newyorkfed.org data show the # of Americans falling severely behind on credit card payments has SPIKED & is on track to surpass the Great Recession’s peak. On In Debt, our own Aissa Canchola Bañez & @tcfdotorg.bsky.social's Gerardo Bonilla Chavez break this down & share state fact sheets

Trump's Public Service Loan Forgiveness rule has been vacated. This was a simple but powerful case with serious implications for working people across the country. Full quote:

The affordability and debt crisis is real. "Over 100 million Americans have credit card debt now, many of them putting groceries and gas on their credit cards just to make it to the end of the month. Delinquencies are at the highest level since the crash of 2008."- @elizabeth-warren.bsky.social ‼️

@repsummerlee.bsky.social & @markey.senate.gov are demanding answers from 5 corporations on their use of stay-or-pay contracts like TRAPs to charge workers $ for leaving their jobs. Employers are required to pay employees for their work. Not the other way around. 🤝

Gig workers can't get bank loans because they have no W-2, no credit history. So a new industry of predatory cash advance lenders has moved in to fill the gap. One of them, KoinsYa, charges 2,381% APR.

You shouldn't be in debt to your employer for leaving a job. @markey.senate.gov and I are demanding answers from companies about their use of coercive stay-or-pay contracts that saddle workers with debt and restrict their freedom to leave. These anti-worker practices must end.

President Trump promised to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. We are more than 5 months past Trump's January 20 deadline. Not a single bank has done so. Absolute 🔥🔥 from @elizabeth-warren.bsky.social

Meanwhile in Albuquerque...We had 2 great events this week w/ elected officials, legislative offices, advocates, educators, & more about the debt & affordability crisis. We need stronger protections for borrowers at the city & state level, including a NM Borrower Bill of Rights!

President Trump claims "affordability is a fake word made up by Democrats." People in America disagree. So do our wallets. H/T @elizabeth-warren.bsky.social

ED owns $1.6 trillion in student loans on paper. It doesn't actually manage any of it. Persis Yu & former FSA ombudsman Bonnie Latreille map who does... & why 13 million borrowers are about to fall off the default cliff.

The Shadow System Behind the Default Cliff - Protect Borrowers

This blog is part two of a three-part series that examines the shadow network of vendors that control the federal student loan market and the role they play in driving student loan defaults.

protectborrowers.org

Black students disproportionately: 👉 struggle to obtain a private student loan 👉 get targeted by predatory lenders 👉 struggle in repayment 👉 get denied access to higher education OBBBA will only make this worse for Black borrowers, widening the racial wealth gap.

🆕 🎉 The last round of our first #AffordableNYCNow policy proposals with The Century Foundation is out NOW! This round is about ways @mayor.nyc.gov can make government work for NYC families struggling to stay afloat. Check it out:

Affordable NYC Now - Protect Borrowers

An agenda to lower costs, hold corporations accountable, and make government work for New Yorkers.

protectborrowers.org

“…one of the biggest existential crises of this nation is personal debt. Student debt. Medical debt. Auto debt. Mortgage, home debt.” @frost.house.gov is right. 👏 The affordability crisis & debt crisis go hand-in-hand. Families are pushed into the red just to afford essentials.

Nothing shows the sad state of the CFPB better than its recent declaration that “everything is OK at BILT” without confidential supervision or public enforcement. TLDR: “This is terrible if you care about protecting consumers or preventing corruption,”- Mike Pierce, @protectborrowers.bsky.social

BTW if you haven't heard us shout about it yet.... subscribe to our Substack!!! Every Monday, Ben Kaufman drops a (usually) spicy take on whatever's happening in consumer finance. On Thursdays, we publish an expert deep dive.  ⇾ indebt.substack.com/subscribe