Payday Loan News Blog

Payday Loan News Blog - Mar 08 ...

> Ontario cracks down on payday loans ... March 31, 2008
TORONTO, ONT -- Ontario introduced legislation today to crack down on payday loan companies to protect the province's "economically vulnerable" and while those in the industry applauded the move they took exception to how the Liberal government categorized their clientele. The proposed law – similar to legislation passed in several provinces – seeks to limit how much payday loan companies can charge Ontario customers... cont...

> Cash America may change Florida product offering ... March 31, 2008
FLORIDA -- Payday lender Cash America International Inc said it may change its cash lending product offering in Florida to an alternative cash advance product, following a regulatory review of a similar product of its competitor. The regulators were reviewing Ezcorp Inc's credit services organization product and could come out with some recommendations, Roth Capital Partners analyst Elizabeth Pierce said. A CSO arranges for short-term cash advances to customers with an independent third-party lender... cont...

> Enforcing payday law will be the tough part ... March 30, 2008
NEWPORT, VA -- After Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signs a bill putting a series of complicated new restrictions on the payday lending industry in Virginia, the tough work of enforcement begins. The new law will not make significant changes to the triple-digit interest rates customers pay on the loans. But it will begin restricting the number of loans people can take and offer them new routes to escape when they find themselves stuck in a cycle of debt... cont...

> New plan counters payday loan business ... March 28, 2008
FLORISSANT, MO -- Missouri state Rep. Michael Spreng announced at a meeting of the Florissant City Council on Monday that he is introducing legislation to allow credit unions to offer low-interest loans to counter high-interest payday loans. Under the proposal, a person with a $500 loan would pay $45 in interest over a 90-day period vs. $450 during the same amount of time with payday loan establishments. The measure gained support from the City Council... cont...

> Senate sends payday loan bill to committee ... March 28, 2008
FRANKFORT, KY -- The Senate has sent a bill meant to better regulate Kentucky's payday loan industry to its budget committee, a move supporters fear could kill it. "I don't have much experience up here," said Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, sponsor of House Bill 500. "But it seems that is a place to send it for death." The bill has passed the House but the Senate has not acted on the measure, which is aimed at businesses that provide high-cost, short-term cash loans... cont...

> Rep. Sailor got $80,000 from lobbyist day after related bill passed ... March 26, 2008
ATLANTA, GA -- Former state Rep. Ron Sailor's acceptance of $80,000 from a lobbyist pushing a payday lending bill last year came the day after he promoted the bill in a House committee, according to a review of House records. The state Ethics Commission is investigating Sailor and Willie A. Green, the lobbyist who gave him the money in February 2007. Green's attorney, Morris Wiltshire Jr. of Athens, has described the transaction as a loan for a real estate venture and not an attempt to influence Sailor. Sailor resigned last week after pleading guilty in federal court to money laundering... cont...

> Mallory criticizes payday lending ... March 26, 2008
CINCINNATI, OH -- One week after a study revealed a 14-fold increase in the number of payday lenders in Ohio since 1996, mayors of six of the state’s largest cities, including Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, are speaking out in favor of reforming the industry, according to a release from the Ohio Coalition For Responsible Lending. “City mayors and council members understand the impact that loans charging 391 percent interest have on borrowers,” said Bill Faith, OCRL legislative chair, referring the annual interest rates on many payday loans that exceed 300 percent. Mallory, along with the mayors of Akron, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Youngstown, offered comments to support the OCRL... cont...

> Big-city mayors endorse cap on payday lending rates ... March 26, 2008
COLUMBUS, OH -- 6 of Ohio's big-city mayors have come out in support of a crackdown on payday lending practices. The mayors of Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron and Dayton want to see the Ohio Legislature place caps on the lending rates for payday lenders. A bill supported by the Ohio Coalition for Responsible Lending would place an annual percentage rate of 36% on loans from payday lenders... cont...

> Senate weakens efforts to regulate payday loans ... March 25, 2008
DENVER, CO -- The Colorado Senate significantly weakened an effort to regulate payday lenders during a debate on the topic on Tuesday morning. Senators were discussing House Bill 1310 which sought to cap the annual interest rate on payday loans at 45 percent. An amendment to allow the industry to charge origination fees on each loan was accepted as was a plan to allow finance charges of $20 on the first $100 loaned.... cont...

> Cash America Shares Continue to Rally ... March 25, 2008
NEW YORK -- Cash America International Inc.'s stock continued to climb on Tuesday, a day after the pawnshop chain hiked its forecast for profit in the first quarter. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company said early Monday it expects to earn 80 cents per share to 82 cents per share for the first quarter, an improvement versus its previous target and analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Financial. Cash America runs about 500 pawnshops and 300 loan outlets... cont...

> Alcester bank dips into payday loans ... March 25, 2008
SIOUX FALLS -- The State Bank of Alcester wants to give people an alternative to so-called payday loans. The bank is one of 30 nationwide in a pilot program that seeks more comfortable options for lenders and customers in the small-dollar loan market. "Our goal is to identify small-dollar loan programs that are profitable for lenders and affordable alternatives to payday loans and other high-cost loans that are harming consumers"... cont...

> Pay-Day Lending Rises As Mortgage Crisis Worsens ... March 24, 2008
PORTLAND, OR -- As more homeowners struggle to avoid foreclosure credit experts say many are turning to so-called pay-day loans to stay afloat. The short-term, high-rate loans intended to be a lifeline could end up dragging borrowers under. "Potentially 50 percent of those borrowers end up in default on those payday loans," warned Leslie Parrish of the Center for Responsible Lending... cont...

> Catholics join call for payday loan reform ... March 23, 2008
CLEVELAND, OH -- The Catholic Conference of Ohio has joined the state’s religious leaders in a campaign for payday lending reform. Speaking at a February 26 Ohio Coalition Responsible Lending news conference, six religious leaders urged Ohio voters to support House Bill 333 and to let their representatives know the bill should be enacted. The bill remains in a house committee. There has been one public hearing on it, but there has been no movement to bring the bill up for a vote... cont...

> Fee on payday-loan businesses to be decided by voters April 8 ... March 22, 2008
KANSAS CITY, MO -- Last fall, the Kansas City Council placed new restrictions on payday-loan establishments, including requiring an annual $1,000 fee for each of those businesses. But the council needs voter approval for the fee. Question 2 on the April 8 ballot seeks voter support for the $1,000 annual charge per business, or $500 for a permit issued with less than six months left in the year, to reimburse the city for the administrative costs of regulating and inspecting these establishments. Supporters say that is a legitimate cost of regulation. Payday-loan operators argue that it is an unfair financial burden... cont...

> Conway payday lender shuts down; 3 still open locally ... March 22, 2008
ARKANSAS -- Of 10 central Arkansas payday lending companies contacted Friday, only one reported closing its doors this week, and it was a Conway business. A worker for Cash Advance of Arkansas on Harkrider Street said she didn't want her last name in the paper because, as of Friday, "Tammie" is unemployed. Tammie said she worked there eight years before it shut down a day prior to Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's move to shut down payday lenders in the state... cont...

> Payday loans to become a felony in Arizona? ... March 21, 2008
PHOENIX, AZ -- Payday lending is currently under attack and could possibly become a felony in Arizona by October 2009. Payday loans can cost you, for example you can pay a fifteen-dollar fee for a $100 loan. That's a huge percentage taken as a yearly rate and Arizona is following one state that has already started taking actions against it. The Arkansas Attorney General is trying to close all payday-lending stores in the state.... cont...

> House passes payday-lending database bill ... March 21, 2008
FRANKFORT, KY -- After brief but heated floor debate, legislation that would track payday lending passed the House on Thursday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, would establish a database of all outstanding loans. Opponents to the bill said it would put small mom-and-pop lenders out of business and lessen options for desperate consumers. But Bell argued passionately that these steps are needed to oversee the multibillion-dollar industry. "What I'm trying to do here is protect the consumers of Kentucky.... cont...

> Arkansas payday lenders ordered shut or be sued ... March 20, 2008
ARKANSAS -- Attorney Gen. Dustin McDaniel Tuesday mailed cease-and-desist orders to 156 payday lending outlets, eight of them local.
McDaniel ordered the lenders to stop making the high-interest loans and to stop collecting payments on the loans they already have out. “Make no mistake, this letter is not a magic wand or a silver bullet,” McDaniel said. “These businesses will not disappear overnight. Some will restructure themselves in an attempt to avoid our law. Some operate without a license, making them harder to find. Some will fold, and some will fight us in court.... cont...

> Kentucky Bill would limit payday lending ... March 12, 2008
FRANKFORT, KY -- A bill to be considered in the House banking committee on Wednesday could help crack down on millions of dollars in illegal payday loans. The legislation, filed by Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, would set up a database to track so-called "deferred deposit transactions," which are short-term, high-interest loans against someone's paycheck. State law prohibits more than $500 worth of such loans to an individual at any one time, but Kentucky has no way of enforcing that restriction because the Office of Financial Institution does not track the loans... cont...

> Payday lenders urge letting 2007 law work ... March 12, 2008
COLORADO -- As the payday lending industry fights a bill that would severely cap the fees it charges, it's asking legislators to let a new law, which mandates payment plans for its customers, work. "The cycle of debt just doesn't exist," Stephen Chavez, an employee of Paycheck Loans, told a cheering crowd Tuesday at a pro-payday lending rally at the Capitol. "We offer a payment plan after your fourth loan." The state law, effective since July, requires lenders to offer a no-fee, no-interest payment plan once the borrower takes out a fourth consecutive loan... cont...

> Protests as payday loan bill advances ... March 12, 2008
DENVER, CO - Hundreds of protesters rallied on the Capitol steps Tuesday to oppose a bill they say would kill the payday loan industry and cost hundreds of Coloradans their jobs. The protesters were speaking out against HB1310, which would cap the annual interest rate lenders could collect at 45 percent. It would also limit the fees a customer would pay on a loan to $60 and prohibit a borrower from having more than one outstanding loan at a time. The bill has passed through the House and is scheduled for debate in the Senate today... cont...

> Payday Lenders Rally Against Bill To Cap Interest Rates ... March 11, 2008
DENVER, CO -- The west steps of the Capitol were full of supporters Tuesday who voiced opposition to a bill that would cap the interest rate of payday loans at 45 percent interest. House Bill 1310 would only allow lenders to charge $1.73 per $100 borrowed for a typical two-week-period. Opponents of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, said that's less than 13 cents a day. "We have support in the Senate," said Michael Shannon, director of public affairs for Moneytree Inc... cont...

> Payday lender leaves Oregon because of rate cap ... March 11, 2008
OREGON -- One of the nation's largest payday lenders is pulling out of Oregon, saying it lost money since the state capped interest rates to 36 percent. Check Into Cash, based in Tennessee, closed many of its stores when the Oregon Legislature passed a law last year capping interest rates on short-term loans under $50,000. It plans to close the remaining 13 stores and get out of Dodge. The company has about 49 payday outlets in Washington state. Congress approved a 36-percent cap on loans to military personnel in 2006... cont...

> Payday lending a hot topic at town hall meeting ... March 11, 2008
STAUNTON, VA -- Community members distributing “Break the Cycle of Debt” stickers were a preview of the discussion Monday night during Gov. Timothy Kaine's visit to Shelburne Middle School, his first stop of 10 throughout Virginia. Payday lending was the main discussion topic during the governor's question and answer session. With a bill just days away from his desk, members of various community organizations urged Kaine to consider lowering the Senate-proposed 20 percent borrowing fee, which would be in addition to the 36 percent cap on interest rates for borrowers... cont...

> Payday Loan With No Fee Checklist ... March 10, 2008
The following checklist can become your handy guide when you want to finalize the payday loan with no fee deal. The first and foremost thing to consider – do you really need these cash advances? Finance experts call them "costly cash," since the APR is usually very high in such loans. So ask yourself if there are any other financial resources available for your immediate monetary needs... cont...

> Regulating payday loans ... March 10, 2008
COLORADO -- A bill before the Colorado legislature would limit the interest and fees payday lending businesses can charge residents. House Bill 1310, which narrowly passed the house in February, would limit the annual interest rate on short-term loans the businesses provide borrowers to 45 percent. It would also limit lenders to assessing only one $60 finance fee per borrower per year. Payday loan industry proponents contend that the loans they make are high-risk, and that the regulations HB 1310 proposes would drive them out of business and force their service underground.... cont...

> Baldwin Park may ban payday advance stores ... March 8, 2008
BALDWIN PARK, CA -- The mayor says they are 'an eyesore,' and accuses them of 'preying on the poor.' But some customers say they need the service. Jesus Rodriguez knew he was going to come up short on his bills, so on a recent Friday afternoon he took his accustomed trip to a Baldwin Park strip mall. The produce-truck driver walked into a payday lending business nestled alongside a Chinese fast-food joint and a dental office. He wrote out a personal check for $300 and walked out with $255 cash. The 33-year-old Mexican immigrant basically gave away $45 to get the advance, but he said he didn't see a lot of other options.
Baldwin Park is one of the latest city to target businesses that conduct payday lending and check cashing... cont...

> Virginia passes payday lending reform ... March 8, 2008
RICHMOND, VA -- Legislators ended three years of debate over payday lending Thursday by passing a package of reforms that place broad restrictions on the short-term, high interest lenders. The bills would extend the amount of time borrowers have to repay a payday loan and effectively limit how many borrowers can get each year. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine indicated he would sign the legislation... cont...

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