Payday Loan Reform News – November 10

Highlights

Payday loans are predatory

November 10, The Billings Gazette

As a former U.S. Air Force air traffic controller for six years, I saw payday lenders prey on men and women in uniform. Financial distress is the top reason military personnel take their own lives. The Military Lending Act gave relief to active duty service members. Payday loans are prohibited under the Act; a protection Montana voters extended to Montana residents in 2010. Soon after the MLA passed, payday lenders around military bases shut down. The MLA only applies to active duty service members, not veterans. This act helps the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau go after illegal debt trap loans that target service-members. Problem is, once you're out, it no longer applies.

 

Faith Community Joins Together for Prayer Walk to Advocate for Predatory Lending Protections
November 3, The Weekly Challenger

Today faith leaders and impacted community members gathered in front of a payday lending storefront to join together for a Prayer Walk to call on the Florida Constitution Revision Commission to sponsor a proposal that would put a rate cap on predatory payday lending on the ballot.

 

Top Stories

Payday Lenders, with Major Business before Trump to Hold Conference at Trump Doral
November 8, Miami Herald

National charities and industry associations are ditching Trump properties like Mar-a-Lago for annual galas and conferences, but at least one association with business before the White House is set to visit Trump National Doral for its annual conference.
Reposts: Bradenton Herald

 

Sulphur Springs City Council Passes Every Agenda Item
November 8, East Texas Radio

The Sulphur Springs City Council passed every item on the agenda at Tuesday night’s meeting. There was not a single dissenting vote on any item. Big changes will go into effect on January 1 for Payday Lending businesses. Brian Toliver Ford was awarded a big for three new SUV police vehicles for the Sulphur Springs PD. Tax abatements were awarded to Saputo Industries and Backstory Brewery. Police Chief Jay Sanders was named the Director of Public Service to oversee both police and fire protection.
Reposts: Front Porch News

Warren Stephens' offshore investment turns up in Paradise Papers

November 7, The Arkansas Times

Little Rock financial titan Warren Stephens figures prominently in the New York Times reporting project on the "Paradise Papers. It details offshore financial methods to avoid taxes and shield business from public scrutiny.

Letter: Tell banks not to offer payday loans

November 4, Current Publishing
The same day that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau released its new payday rule, the interim Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (a separate federal regulator) retracted a four-year-old guidance that had prohibited banks from making payday loans. Now, the midwestern U.S. Bank has already openly considered the option, and Wells Fargo could follow suit. These “deposit advance loans” could allow a payday loan product that wouldn’t be covered by state interest rate caps.

 

Right Rule on Payday Lending
November 3, Republican Herald

Like any other service, payday lending exists because there is a market for it. Low-income workers often take short-term small payday loans, typically about $500, to get to their next paycheck. The trick for regulators is to keep access to the loans while protecting consumers from the long-term problems that often develop in practice.

 

Society Sets Forum on Predatory Lending
November 2, Chillicothe Gazette

When the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Columbus created a microloan program, the intent was to provide an option for those in need to meet smaller, unexpected expenses without falling prey to predatory lending practices. Now that the program has expanded to four other counties, including Ross, the society has put together a local public forum that will discuss the issue of predatory lending and its impacts.

How a Maine Line Payday Lender Used an Indian Tribe and an Empty Computer Server to Make Millions
November 2, The Philadelphia Inquirer

The nerve center of payday lending pioneer Charles Hallinan’s multimillion-dollar business empire was – at least on paper – housed for years in a dilapidated shipping container parked on a dusty patch of tribal land in rural Northern California. Inside, a lone computer server purportedly fielded hundreds of requests each day from desperate borrowers across the country – applying online for low-dollar, high-interest loans to carry them until their next paycheck.