Payday News, December 21 – January 8

January 5, 2016
The Hill Blog
Stop the debt trap
Gary Kalman from CRL posted a response to Jeffrey H. Joseph’s blog about the CFPB rule on payday loans.

January 6, 2016
PBS Newshour
Fighting the debt trap of triple-digit interest rate payday loans
South Dakota has been the epicenter of high interest since the 1980s, when the state repealed laws capping rates to attract jobs from credit card companies like Wells Fargo and Citibank.

For more coverage:

  • SDPB Radio | Voters Consider Competing Payday Loan Regulations
  • Kelloland | Comparing The Two Short-Term Loan Issues On The Ballot
  • Court House News Service | Payday Loan Rate Cap Qualifies for S.D. Ballot
  • Collections & Credit Risk | Rate Cap for South Dakota Payday Loans Qualifies for Ballot


  • January 8, 2016
    eCreditDaily
    Millennials Too Often Rely on Costlier Payday Loans, Pawnshops and Rent-to-Own Plans
    More than 40 percent of millennials used a payday loan, pawnshop, tax refund advance or other alternative financial product in the past five years and only 24 percent of them demonstrated basic financial knowledge.

    January 8, 2016
    myarklamiss.com
    Payday Loan Warning from the Better Business Bureau
    The Federal Trade Commission announced that Red Cedar Services Inc. and SFS Inc. will pay $2.2 million each and will waive or wipe out $68 million in inflated fees charge to consumers nationwide.

    January 8, 2016
    Indianapolis Recorder
    The severe effect of racial wealth gap on Black lives
    Discusses the racial wealth gap and mentioned that according to a 2013 Federal Reserve survey, about three times as many Blacks reported taking out a high-interest payday loan in the previous year as did whites at the same income level.

    January 8, 2016
    Nwi.com
    Don’t weaken Wall Street reforms
    A consumer states that she’s relieved to learn about Congress blocking efforts to weaken consumer protections and roll back reforms for Wall Street.

    January 7, 2016
    Reuters
    Why are millennials tapping payday loans and pawn shops?
    A joint study from PwC and George Washington University found that 28 percent of college-educated millennials (ages 23-35) have tapped short-term financing from pawn shops and payday lenders in the last five years.
    Reprints:
    Money Magazine

    January 7, 2016
    The Hill
    More work for Dodd-Frank
    Rules for payday lenders from the CFPB, new rules for derivatives from the SEC, a joint rule from financial regulators on incentive-based compensation and a final rule from the CFTC to cap the amount any trader can hold in the market are topping the president’s list of priorities.

    January 7, 2016
    Market Watch
    40% of millennials have used a pawnshop or payday lender
    More than 40% of millennials used a payday loan, pawnshop, tax refund advance or other alternative financial product in the past five years, according to a survey of more than 5,000 millennials released by tax and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at George Washington University.

    January 7, 2016
    The Nation
    Postal Banking Worked—Let’s Bring It Back
    When the community banks leave communities, payday lenders, check cashers, and title lenders fill the void.

    January 7, 2016
    Columbia Basin Herald
    Postal banking needed
    Postal baking would save families that borrow from payday loan and check-cashing businesses, thousands of dollars a year and provide a new revenue stream for the USPS at rates far less than the 10 percent of their income.

    January 7, 2016
    Minnesota Public Radio News
    Payday lenders thrive with ‘debt trap’
    In the last days of the 2014 legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature tried to pass tougher legislation against payday lenders.

    January 7, 2016
    The Taos News
    Legislators: Capping interest rates on ‘payday’ loans only fair
    Efforts to cap rates at 36 percent have flopped in New Mexico because title loan companies have spent a bundle on the campaigns of state politicians and lobbyists.

    January 6, 2016
    WBRC FOX6 News
    Payday loan reform advocates say unfair interest rates conflict with Christian morals
    Many advocates for payday lending reform met in the first of two meetings called “Payday and Title Reform in Alabama” at the Canterbury United Methodist Church on Wednesday night.

    January 6, 2016
    AL.com
    Churches ready to resume fight against payday lenders
    A statewide coalition of religious groups is gearing up in 2016 for another fight for regulatory curbs on high-interest payday and title loans in Alabama.

    January 6, 2016
    InsideARM.com
    FTC Announces Settlement with Payday Lenders
    Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an agreement with two payday lenders to settle charges that they illegally charged consumers across the country undisclosed and inflated fees.

    January 5, 2016
    Nashville Public Radio
    After Restricting Payday Lenders, Metro Rushes To Limit New ‘Flex Loan’ Shops
    A Metro law that restricts where payday lenders and cash advance stores can operate is being tested in Donelson, where a well-known chain wants to offer a new product known as a “flex loan.”

    January 5, 2016
    Consumerist
    Two Payday Lenders Agree To Pay $4.4M In Fines, Release Borrowers From $68M In Loans, Fees
    The Federal Trade Commission announced that Red Cedar Services Inc. and SFS Inc., operating as 500 Fast Cash and One Click Cash would each pay $2.2 million and waive a total $68 million in customer fees to settle a years-long investigation into the operation.

    January 5, 2016
    Navajo-Hopi Observer
    Auto title loans offer quick cash, but critics warn of mounting debt
    Article warns about car title loans and mentions negative impact of payday loans.

    January 4, 2016
    KELO.com
    Competing Payday lending caps on 2016 ballot
    Secretary of State Shantel Krebs has certified two ballot measures that aim to cap payday lending rates in South Dakota for the 2016 general election ballot.

    January 4, 2016
    Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
    Special Report: Vicious cycle of payday loans poses hazard for low-income borrowers
    There are more payday loan stores per capita in Wisconsin than in most other states because its payday loan finance rates are so high.

    January 2, 2016
    The News & Advance
    Quick cash loans under scrutiny in Virginia
    Article quotes a CRL study on the correlations between lending store locations and neighborhoods with poor or minority groups.

    January 2, 2016
    Deseret News
    In our opinion: Nearly 8,000 lawsuits by payday lenders against their clients
    According to Utah Department of Financial Institutions, over 45,000 payday loans were not repaid in full at the end of 10 weeks and The Salt Lake Tribune recently found that this resulted in at least 7,927 lawsuits from payday lenders against delinquent clients from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015.

    January 1, 2016
    Palo Verde Valley Times
    State targets payday and smaller loans
    Regulations surrounding payday loans and small-dollar lending practices may get much tighter this year as California Attorney General urges the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to adopt regulations that strengthen protections against payday and small-dollar lending practices.

    December 31, 2015
    San Antonio Business Journal
    Payday loan operator that shuttered dozens of locations in SA looks towards Mexico for 2016
    Austin-based company EZCORP Inc. (NYSE: EZPW) only has pawn shops in San Antonio since pulling the plug across 28 lending operations in the Alamo City and intends to open new stores as well as pursue acquisitions in Mexico.

    December 30, 2015
    ARLNow
    Ebbin Bill Would Keep New Payday Loan Offices 20 Miles Away from Casinos
    State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) has proposed a bill that would prevent the State Corporation Commission (SCC) from approving licenses for payday lending and motor vehicle title lending offices within 20 miles of a casino facility.

    December 28, 2015
    Florida Politics
    THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, AS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THESE FLORIDA LOBBYISTS AND POLITICOS
    The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops has identified capping the annual percentage rate for payday lenders, supporting a living wage, and creating local mechanisms to resolve wage theft disputes as top policy positions for 2016.

    December 28, 2015
    Omaha.com
    Days of the payday loan could be numbered with new regulations on the horizon
    The CFPB anticipates a release of its long-awaited rulemaking proposal in the first quarter of 2016.

    December 27, 2015
    Lansing State Journal
    Paxton: Payday loans unhealthy for finances
    Payday lending authority in Michigan has expanded.

    December 24, 2015
    The Fresno Bee
    Payday lenders prey on poor
    Article discusses the negative impact of payday loans in Fresno, CA.

    December 24, 2015
    The Dallas Morning News
    Hits and Misses: Our editorial tally of the week’s highs and lows
    Mesquite City Council joined nearly 30 Texas cities to pass an ordinance regulating payday-lending operations.

    December 23, 2015
    Louisburg Herald
    Make saving money part of your New Year plans
    Those without emergency funds borrow $2 billion from payday lenders who charge 300 to 500 percent interest.

    December 23, 2015
    The Salt Lake Tribune
    Editorial: Payday loans are no gift
    As the number of payday-lending operations in Utah grows, members of Utah Legislature have attempted to put limits on them but it has proven to be difficult.

    December 23, 2015
    NMPolitics.net
    It’s time to stop the grand theft auto of title loan companies
    Discusses the negative impact of car title loans in New Mexico and state lawmaker’s failure to address the issue.

    December 23, 2015
    Ionmesquite.com
    Council passes new rules on payday loans
    The Mesquite City Council voted to approve a new ordinance regulating payday loan operators, encouraging state Legislature to take action.

    December 21, 2015
    KUT.org
    ‘They Gave Me $2,800 … I’ve Paid Almost $5,000.’ Now She Could Finally End Her Payday Loan
    Story of a woman who borrowed $2,800 from a payday lender and after paying $5,000 back still not out of the debt trap three years later.
    Reprints:
    Keranews.org

    December 21, 2015
    Time Warner Cable News
    Holiday Spending Hits Consumers’ Pockets
    Article discusses holiday shopping and bad spending habits and how consumers lose track of financial goals when using credit cards and payday loans.