Blogs, posts & press releases:
April 2016
Center for Responsible Lending
Enfoque: Payday (PDF)
Spanish language magazine published by CRL with an issue focusing exclusively on payday lending.
April 8, 2016
New Economy Project
New Economy Project and Allies Go to DC to Demand Strong Payday Lending Rule
Community and clergy leaders from Paydayfreelandia call on CFPB to issue strong payday lending rule.
April 7, 2016
CFED
No, The CFPB Payday Rules Will Not Leave Consumers Worse Off
Payday loans are bad products that trap families in financial distress. But you wouldn’t know that listening to the payday industry fight against reforms proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB).
April 7, 2016
Consumer Action
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, we’ve got your back!
Consumer advocates fear a reprise of the March 16 House Financial Services Committee hearing, which turned ugly as CFPB foes grilled Cordray about the agency.
April 7, 2016
Allied Progress
New Website Exposes “Protect America’s Consumers” – The Shady Interest Group Behind the CFPB Smear Campaign
Allied Progress and American Family Voices launched a website highlighting the true motivations behind the shady front group called Protect America’s Consumers.
April 4, 2016
Allied Progress
New Billboards Hit Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Undermining Obama on Payday Lending Reform
The latest round of advertising features two illuminated billboards on high traffic routes in Florida’s 23rd District informing local residents that “Debt Trap Debbie” is siding with payday lenders rather than President Obama.
More coverage:
Florida Politics | Billboards take Debbie Wasserman Schultz to task on payday loans
April 4, 2016
ConnPIRG
What is payday lending?
The CFPB is currently working on a rule to rein in the payday lending industry. We, along with AFR, are working to make sure the rule is a strong one.
Top Stories:
April 7, 2016
The New York Times
The Associated Press Feds: Payday Lender Charged 700 Percent Interest on Loans
The head of a payday lending enterprise accused of charging more than 700 percent interest on short-term loans was indicted Thursday on federal racketeering charges.
More coverage:
The New York Times | Payday Lending Pioneer Indicted in U.S. on Racketeering Charges
Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com | With Mafia-busting law, feds indict payday lending pioneer
Chicago Tribune | Patriarch of payday loans indicted amid usury crackdown Reprints: Salt Lake Tribune
The News Journal (Delaware) | Prominent lawyer indicted in payday loan scheme
CBS Philly | 3 Men Accused of Racketeering After Scamming Thousands In ‘PayDay’ Loan Scheme
Consumerist | Pennsylvania Man Charged With Racketeering For $688M Payday Loan Operation
The Patch | Villanova Man, 75, Indicted In $688M Payday Lending Scheme
WDEL 1150AM | Men from Wilmington and Villanova, Canadian Indian chief indicted in pay-day loan scheme
Chadds Ford Live | Feds indict trio for ‘payday lending’ fraud
CNBC | Charged 700 percent interest lenders post bail
Reprints: New York Times Online, Las Vegas Sun, Times Union, Denver Post
April 7, 2016
Daily Kos
Tim Canova Raises a Record $557,000 (in small donations) to Unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz!
Tim Canova, a law professor who is a lifelong progressive, and was once an aide to Sen. Paul Tsongas, took in $557, 000 in his fight against the awful Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Florida Congressional District 23.
April 7, 2016
Housingwire
Congress brings knife to CFPB gun fight
One big reason behind this year’s calm hearing could be the fact that since the CFPB became a watchdog for consumers five years ago, it has obtained $11.2 billion in relief for 25 million people, a number that has skyrocketed from the $3.8 billion reported two years ago.
April 6, 2016
American Banker
CFPB Payday Rules Are Win-Win for Lenders and Consumers
In fact, all of the preliminary ideas proposed by the CFPB make sense and will ensure better outcomes for the consumers of these products.
April 6, 2016
Freakonomics
Tracking the Payday-Loan Industry’s Ties to Academic Research
We noticed that one institution’s name kept coming up in many papers: the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, or CCRF. Several university researchers either thank CCRF for funding or for providing data on the payday loan industry.
April 5, 2016
The Washington Post
The pending crackdown on payday lending is causing the exact Washington argument you’d expect
But the controversy isn’t just about the scope of the regulations. It’s about the bureau making the rules. And whether that bureau should even exist.
Reprints:
Stars & Stripes
The Times Picayune (on NOLA.com)
St. Louis Dispatch
April 6, 2016
NBCNews
Warren and Wasserman Schultz Clash Over Payday Lenders
The head of the Democratic Party and one of its most popular figures are at odds over the Obama administration’s plans to regulate the payday lending industry.
April 5, 2016
The Hendricks County Flyer
Democrats debate rules for payday loans
Gary Kalman, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending, said neither the industry’s proposal to focus on bad actors, nor the Florida law with a shorter cooling-off period between loans, will do much good.
April 5, 2016
Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama Senate approves payday loan reform bill
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would extend the time to pay off the loans from 30 days to six months and regulate the interest a lender can charge.
More coverage:
The Charlotte Observer | Alabama Senate passes payday legislation
AL.com | Alabama Senate passes bill to extend terms for payday loans
Dothan Eagle | Another swipe at short-term lending
The News & Observer | Alabama Senate passes payday legislation
WIAT | Alabama Senate passes payday loan legislation
The Anniston Star | Senate votes to limit payday loan interest
CNBC | Charged 700 percent interest lenders post bail
April 7, 2016
The Wall Street Journal
Consumer Watchdog Chief Sees Role for Fintech in Payday Lending
The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday that financial technology companies could play a role in making small-dollar loans to consumers after the agency introduces what will be the first federal rule governing the payday-loan industry.
April 7, 2016
The Pitch
Federal judge in Nevada drops the hammer on local payday-loan magnate Scott Tucker, orders his assets frozen
A federal judge has ordered Scott Tucker and his wife to stick to an allowance for the next two months. To cover their living expenses and legal fees, they can spend no more than $150,000.
April 5, 2016
The National Credit Union Foundation
Getting people out of the payday lending trap
It has been more than ten years since REAL Solutions began working with credit unions to find the right products and services to help low-wage working families build economic capability.
April 4, 2016
The Pitch
How an FTC bust in Chicago last week relates to KC’s payday-loan circles
Among other things, the feds say, these entities “threatened and intimidated consumers to collect phantom payday loan ‘debts’ they did not owe.”
April 4, 2016
Courthouse News Service
Payday Lending Cap Will Go to S.D. Voters
A ballot initiative capping short-term lending interest rates at 36 percent can go to voters in November, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled, affirming a ruling in favor of a group fighting predatory lending.
April 3, 2016
The Independent Florida Alligator
Column: Wasserman Schultz is a Clinton proxy
Even though she’s only received $68,000 from payday lenders, according to PolitiFact, this seems to inform her stance on payday lending.
April 2, 2016
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Rodriguez: Payday lending leads to cycle of debt
I am concerned as a pastor with both the usurious nature of these loans, and the everyday experience of those we serve in our charitable ministries.