Payday News, week of January 22, 2016

January 21, 2016
Yahoo Finance
U.S. agency seeks $1.3 bln in racecar driver’s payday lending case
U.S. regulators have asked a federal judge in Nevada to order a professional racecar driver and various entities he and his late brother controlled to pay more than $1.32 billion for engaging in a scheme to deceive payday lending customers.

For more coverage:

  • Law360 | FTC Seeks $1.3B From Race Car Driver Over Payday Loans
  • Reuters | FTC seeks $1.3 bln in racecar driver’s payday lending case
  • January 21, 2016
    Daily Kos
    What Bernie or Hillary must do in order for you to switch in the future
    Grant Post Offices the ability to offer basic banking services, to end the abuse of payday lenders.  PO’s are in most low-income communities say Sen. Warren and Sanders.

    January 21, 2016
    Al.com
    It’s time to let banks compete with payday lenders
    If banks are allowed to use the CFPB’s streamlined procedures, the Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that they could offer loans profitably at prices six times lower than payday lenders. That would put a remarkable amount of money back in the pockets of working Americans, who collectively spend $9 billion annually on payday loan fees.

    January 21, 2016
    BlackEnterprise.com
    Millennials Resorting to Payday Loans to Help Make Ends Meet
    A new survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers and George Washington University’s Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center finds that 42% of the 5,500 Millennials surveyed take out a payday loan or auto title loan, used a pawnshop, got a tax refund advance, or purchased a rent-to-own product in the past 5 years.

    January 20, 2016
    Killeen Daily Herald
    Killeen council mulls payday lender ordinance
    The Killeen City Council is close to reining in payday lending businesses in Killeen, but at least two councilmen seemed opposed to the measure at a Tuesday night workshop.

    For more coverage:

  • Killeen Daily Herald | New animal shelter, payday lenders bill on Killeen agenda
  • January 20, 2016
    Trussvilletribune
    Getting Ready for the 2016 Legislative Session
    Montgomery District 44 will be filing a number of bills in the opening session including a bill that will restrict the interest rate that predatory lenders can charge on “payday loans”. Currently, payday lenders can charge up to 456% annual percentage rate on these loans.

    January 20, 2016
    Seattle Spectator Online
    Students Head to Olympia for MLK Day Action
    Participants rode to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia and met with community organizers and state legislative representatives to discuss issues like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), predatory payday lending, and criminal justice reform.

    January 19, 2016
    Yahoo Finance
    Online loan lead-generation sites may open door to fraud
    A 2015 report by Upturn estimated that online payday lenders get as many as 75 percent of their customers through lead generation and the report found that consumers in states where payday lending is illegal were able to get access to payday loans through lead generation sites.

    January 19, 2016
    Coeur d’Alene Press
    Group seeks standards for payday loan operations
    Idaho Community Action Network is protesting what it calls a lack of action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    For more coverage:

  • Collections & CreditRisk | Advocacy Group Seeks Payday Loan Standards
  • January 19, 2016
    Crookston Daily Times
    What’s the harm in adding some basic financial services to U.S. Postal Service?
    “If you are a low-income person, it is, depending upon where you live, very difficult to find normal banking. Banks don’t want you. And what people are forced to do is go to payday lenders who charge outrageously high interest rates. You go to check-cashing places, which rip you off. And, yes, I think that the postal service, in fact, can play an important role in providing modest types of banking service to folks who need it.”

    January 17, 2016
    Midland Reporter-Telegram
    Texans pay highest costs in small-dollar loans
    While small-dollar loans can serve a needed role in a community by assisting a borrower experiencing financial difficulty, payday and auto title loans often involve very high interest rates and fees and can increase financial strain for families already burdened.

    January 16, 2016
    Salt Lake Tribune
    Op-ed: Payday lenders use legal system as their collection muscle
    At the very least, the Utah Legislature ought to require some minimal underwriting before giving payday lenders access to this legal collection muscle.

    January 16, 2016
    Providence Journal
    Checks and the mail: Push is on for USPS to offer basic banking
    The effort is led by consumer advocates, financial-reform groups, postal labor unions and some leading liberals, such as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren,
    D-Mass. They say postal banks could provide cash-strapped consumers with an affordable alternative to payday, auto-title and other short-term loans that have been criticized for high fees.

    January 15, 2016
    WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio
    Could Postal Banking Be An Alternative to Payday Loan Centers?
    For many people, payday loan centers are the only alternative to borrowing from traditional banks. But a growing number of people are calling for financial services to be a part of another organization – the US Postal Service.

    January 15, 2016
    Las Vegas Sun
    Supreme Court allows lawsuit against payday loan company
    The Nevada Supreme Court has allowed a class-action suit to proceed against a Las Vegas payday loan company that filed thousands of judgments against people who defaulted on short-term, high-interest loans.

    January 8, 2015
    Lexology
    FTC announces settlements with online payday lenders over alleged violations of TILA and efta
    The FTC announced separate settlements with two online payday lenders to resolve charges dating back to April 2012.

    January 05, 2016
    LegalNewsline
    Harris supports CFPB’s proposed payday lending regulations
    California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued a letter that urges the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to adopt regulations that would help protect consumers from harmful payday and small-dollar lending practices.

    December 30, 2015
    Sacramento Business Journal
    California’s attorney general urges federal regulators to tighten rules on payday lenders
    California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Tuesday sent a letter to federal regulators urging them to adopt strict regulations on payday lenders.

    December 28, 2015
    Argus Leader Online
    Measure to cap interest rates for payday lenders to appear on 2016 ballot
    A proposed measure that would cap interest rates for payday lenders at 36 percent will be on the November 2016 election ballot, according to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office.