The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that cities are allowed to sue banks for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act if the city is able to show that it was harmed by a bank’s discriminatory actions. [More]
predatory lending
Survey: 9-in-10 Christian Consumers Think Payday Loans Hurt Borrowers
By 4.13.16
Expensive. Harmful. Predatory. Those are just a few of the words that members of faith-based groups used to describe payday and auto-title loans in a recent report that asked congregants in 30 states to detail their experience with the short-term, high-cost loans and similar financial products. [More]
DNC Chair Backs Pro-Payday Loan Bill; Thinks 300% Interest Is A Consumer Protection
By 3.4.16
You currently can’t get Republican and Democratic lawmakers to agree on a lunch order, let alone jointly support legislation. But one controversial piece of legislation is not only garnering support from both sides of the aisle, it’s also got the Chair of the Democratic National Committee pushing for legislation that would undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability to regulate predatory lending. [More]
Most State Laws Can’t Protect Borrowers From Predatory Installment Loans, Open-End Lines Of Credit
By 7.30.15
As regulators continue to craft rules meant to crackdown on costly and harmful short-term payday lending, companies are offering alternative products like installment loans and open lines of credit to consumers. But, as it turns out, these cash infusions can be just as devastating to those in need, and few states offer sufficient protections for borrowers. [More]
Abusive Lending Practices Can Lead To Negative Long-Term Consequences For Borrowers, Communities
By 6.16.15
Every year, more than 12 million Americans spend $17 billion on payday loans, despite the fact research has shown these costly lines of credit often leave borrowers worse off. Yet abusive lending practices are not relegated to borrowers in need of a couple hundred dollars to stay afloat until their next paycheck; there are mortgages, car loans, and other traditional lines of credit that can leave the borrower in a bind. Even if you never find yourself on the wrong end of a predatory loan, these products can still be a drain on your entire community. [More]
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]
Faith V. Greed: The Battle Between Faith-Based Organizations And The Payday Loan Industry
By 3.10.15
“The Bible condemns gaining wealth through usury; and the writers of Scripture warn about gaining wealth through exploiting the poor… [but] The State of Alabama allows Payday lenders to charge an annual interest rate of 456%.” [More]
Montel Williams Defends Hawking Payday Loan Generator Money Mutual
By 3.2.15
By now we know that celebrities (and pseudo-celebrities) often lend their names to products that may or may not have devastating effects on consumers. Of course, hawking a product for a paycheck doesn’t automatically make the spokesperson in question an expert on the product or the consequences of using it. [More]
FTC Files Lawsuit To Shut Down Deceptive Payday Loan Debt Relief Operation
By 2.24.15
It’s probably safe to assume that consumers stuck in the payday loan debt-trap have enough financial issues without being deceived by a company promising to make their debts disappear. There may be one less unsavory debt relief company around after the Federal Trade Commission sued to stop an operation that targeted millions of consumers. [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]
Online Payday Loans Cost More, Result In More Complaints Than Loans From Sketchy Storefronts
By 10.2.14
We understand why someone might opt for getting a payday loan online instead of doing it in person. It’s easier, faster, doesn’t require going to a shady-looking storefront operation where some trained fast-talking huckster might try to upsell you unnecessary add-ons or tack on illegal insurance policies. But the truth is that people who get their payday loans online often end up in a worse situation than they would have if they’d applied in person. [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]
A Small Victory Against Predatory Lending? Regions Discontinues Payday Loan Product
By 1.15.14
It’s only a small victory in the battle against predatory loans, but there’s now one less bank offering a high-risk payday lending product to consumers. Regions Bank has closed the door on its payday loan-esque deposit advance product. [More]
Auto-Title Lender Skirts Law By Giving Away Cash For Free
By 9.3.13
Several cities in Texas have recently enacted laws intended to drive out or rein in short-term, high-interest lenders offering auto-title loans, in which borrowers put up their cars as collateral for short-term loans averaging around $1,500. But one lender has figured out a way to get around those laws — by giving away free cash and redirecting customers elsewhere when they need to refinance. [More]
