Nearly a decade after legislation was put in place to protect U.S. military personnel and their families from predatory financial products, the Military Lending Act received a much-needed update to close loopholes often exploited by shady lenders to skirt the rules and put the financial lives of servicemembers at risk. [More]
military lending act
Legislators Once Again Trying To Delay New Lending Protections For Military Personnel
By 5.13.15
The Department of Defense is trying to do something good for servicemembers by closing loopholes in the Military Lending Act that can leave military personnel vulnerable to predatory lenders. But these safeguards are now the target of a Congressman who has received substantial campaign contributions from payday lenders. [More]
House Panel Strikes Provision That Would Delay Added Military Lending Act Protections
By 4.30.15
Yesterday we reported that Congress would make a decision whether or not it would intervene to slow the Department of Defense’s work to create new rules aimed at closing loopholes in the Military Lending Act that often leave military personnel vulnerable to predatory financial operations. Thankfully, legislators saw the need for more protections regarding military lending and determined the rules could go into effect as planned. [More]
Congress May Delay Predatory Lending Protection For Military Personnel
By 4.29.15
The Military Lending Act prevents military personnel from being caught in revolving debt traps of triple-digit interest loans from predatory financing operations like payday and auto-title lenders, but there are loopholes that allow some lenders to get around the MLA’s 36% APR interest rate cap, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to servicemembers each year and raising issues of national security. The Dept. of Defense is currently working toward new rules that would add protections for military personnel, but Congress may intervene to slow the DoD from making progress. [More]
Protecting Military Servicemembers From Predatory Loans Is A National Security Issue
By 1.9.15
In recent years, we’ve written a number of stories about laws aimed at protecting active-duty servicemembers and their families from predatory loans and the businesses that try to take advantage of loopholes in these rules. Some readers have asked why members of our armed forces merit protections not available to civilians. But this isn’t about just doing something nice for our soldiers; it’s about removing a threat to national security. [More]
CFPB Urges DoD To Close Loopholes That Cost Military Personnel Millions Of Dollars
By 12.30.14
Nearly three months ago the Obama administration and the Department of Defense announced a proposed overhaul of the Military Lending Act that would aim to close loopholes regularly exploited by predatory lenders in order to sink their hooks into military borrowers. Now, a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights just how devastating – and costly – those loopholes can be for servicemembers. [More]
22 States Ask Defense Dept. To Do More To Protect Servicemembers From Predatory Lenders
By 12.22.14
When the Military Lending Act was introduced in 2007, it aimed to prevent predatory lenders from gouging military personnel with exorbitant interest rates and mountains of fees. While those protections have proven to be successful in many ways, lenders have since learned how to work around specific limits of the law. Now, attorneys general from 22 states are asking the Department of Defense to do more to shield servicemembers from unscrupulous lenders. [More]
Defense Dept. Aims To Close Predatory Lending Loopholes For Military Personnel
By 9.26.14
While the Military Lending Act aims to protect military personnel and their families from predatory lenders’ often unsavory lending practices that include high interest rates and excessive fees, it still allows for clever lenders to get their hooks into borrowers. That’s why the Obama Administration and the Department of Defense announced a proposed overhaul of the rules – much to consumer advocates’ delight. [More]
Banks That Market To & Serve Military Also Tacking On Huge Fees
By 1.16.14
One might assume that banks marketing to U.S. military servicemembers would not be out to nickel and dime these men and women with unnecessarily high fees on their accounts. But among those financial institutions levying the highest level of fees on its account-holders are several that not only market to the military but also have branches on military bases. [More]
Payday Lender To Pay $19 Million For Robo-Signed Collections & Overcharged Servicemembers
By 11.25.13
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took a big step toward reining in irresponsible, predatory lenders by taking its first enforcement action against a large payday loan operation accused of robo-signing court documents related to debt-collection lawsuits, illegally overcharging military servicemembers and their families, and trying to cover these actions up by destroying documents before the CFPB could investigate. [More]
