Highlight:
August 17, North Dallas Gazette: Faith Leaders Call for End to Abusive Payday Lending Practices
This article summarizes the opinions of faith leaders on the CFPB rule regarding payday. The author mainly focuses on the faith leader’s joint criticism of the rules many loopholes. The author focuses on the 6-loan loophole for the majority of the article, as faith leaders believe this loophole to be the most morally appalling.
August 16, WVTF.org: Religious Leaders Call for Action against Predatory Lending
This article summarizes the testimony of a preacher in Virginia whose delegation and personal community is ravaged by payday lending institutions. The article includes a link to his testimony, as well as, reaffirming the Baptist’s Convention urging Congress to create a federal rate cap on these products.
Top Stories:
August 19, Ameriforce: Beware the Payday Loan
This article is aimed at military members and their families, as it instructs readers on how to live on a military paycheck. The author provides tips and things to avoid, like payday loans and others.
August 19, Vice: How Predatory Payday Lenders Plot to Fight Government Regulation
This really well written article discusses efforts that have been and will be made by the CFSA to fight the coming regulatory wall proposed by the CFPB. The author gives background on the payday industry and puts the typical borrower into perspective, as well. The author also seems to have transcripts from the CFSA annual meeting where payday lending industry leaders met in March. The author blends a lot of this information into the article and brings a lot of hypocrisy within the payday lending industry to light.
August 17, NJ.com: Baraka, Fulop Blast Payday Loan Industry
This article summarizes actions being taken by Mayors in Newark and Jersey City as they begin to speak out against the payday loan industry. They touched base on loopholes that need to be closed and join the ranks of many high ranking democrats that have cast judgement on the industry.
August 16, San Antonio Express-News: Texas View: Consumers need help
This Editorial uses data from Texas Appleseed to explain why the current protections for consumers of predatory payday loans are not enough, and why the CFPB’s proposed rule on forced arbitration is needed relief.
August 16, ABC News 15: Valley Man Fights to Have Key Returned from Car Title Company
This article serves as testimony of a man from Arizona who has last access to his car even after he had already the car title lender that took his keys as collateral. The author includes a link to the original interview with the victim. The lender has said that his keys were misplaced due to “absence of oversight and clerical error.”
August 13, Los Angeles Daily News: Payday lenders must be stopped from preying on the poor: Guest commentary
This article discusses the redlining of many low-income black families within all forms of lending, not exclusively payday. The author also examines the disparities in debt faced by women of color in comparison to many other members of society.
Partner Blogs & Statements:
August 18, Allied Progress: Reporter Fails to Note Supposed Payday Success Story Works for a Payday Lender
This article cites more hypocrisy used within the payday lending industry to help frame the loans in a more positive light. The author look into a “success” story from Las Vegas and found that the subject of the story received 80% of his business from a payday lender and the payday friendly writer of the original story failed to mention this in the piece proclaiming a payday “success” story.
August 18, Center for Responsible Lending: 90 Million Consumers Save $2.2 Billion Each Year Without Triple-digit Interest Loans
New research finds that in states without triple-digit payday loans, 90 million consumers save more than $2.2 billion each year that would have otherwise been paid to lenders.
August 16, People’s Action: Stop the Payday Loan Sharks!
This link goes to a video on YouTube create by a community finance group in Milwaukee, WI. They have created a sort of commercial pointing out the many problem faced by victims of payday lenders. The group target Speedy Loan, a payday loan company in Milwaukee, in particular when creating the video.
August 15, Allied Progress: Payday-Funded Group Cites Payday-Funded Poll to Argue against CFPB’s Payday Rule
This article illuminates some of the underhanded tactics of the payday lending industry. The President of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Javier Palomarez, wrote an op-ed that was critical of the CFPB’s rule after being paid $385,000 by one of the primary payday industry leaders. The article, written by Palomarez, also pointed to a poorly designed poll, sponsored by this same payday lending group, to make his argument seem legitimate. Within this article there are links to donations made to the Commerce group by the payday industry, as well as, links to the faulty study, and Pew study findings.
August 12, National Council of La Raza: Don’t Be Fooled: Payday Lenders Do Target Communities of Color
Marisabel Torres responds to a Huffington Post article that seems to be supporting payday lending.
More News:
August 19, Star Tribune: State Bars Internet Lender, Wins $11.7M Settlement over ‘Rent-a-Tribe’ Loans
This article follows the situation in Minnesota as they deal with an unlicensed illegal payday lender named CashCall. The author summarizes all payments the company will need to make, as well as, the cost of some of the issues that will be abandoned by the company, like outstanding debt from customers. Altogether, the lawsuit will cost the company $11.7 million.
August 19, Patch: Minnesota Reaches $4.5 Million Settlement with Unlicensed Payday Loan Company
This article announces a settlement of $4.5 million with a payday loan company in Minnesota, CashCall, which claimed it could operate within the state by claiming tribal immunity. The settlement removed all debts from victimized parties within the state, as well as, forced the company to withdraw from the state unless it could receive proper licensing and comply with current laws.
August 18, CU Insight: Twenty-Eight Credit Unions on Board to Test Programs to Serve Underbanked Minorities
This article takes a look at a growing program aimed to help underbanked communities in the United States and Canada. In the United States a disproportionate amount of wealth is lost in low income minority households, those most commonly targeted by payday lenders. The author gives a summary of the new piloted products offered by these programs, as well as, the specific locations that have joined the pilot program.
August 18, Press Herald: State Releases Guide on Avoiding High-Cost Loans
This article explains where and how to get a new guide book on high interest loans. The book explains the nuances of loans and credit and is an attempt to keep the community knowledgeable on the options that are available to them when money is short.
August 18, Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Maine Consumer Bureau Warns of the Cost of High-Interest Loans
This article, like the last one, serves as an introduction to the new guide book on high interest loans. The author includes a payday lending harm example, as well.
August 17, ProExpansion: La industria de los “payday-loans” (Spanish)
This Spanish-language article tells of the passage of Dodd-Frank as a response to the financial crisis, and how the CFPB’s proposed payday loan rule could further offer protections to consumers.
August 16, NewsOK: ‘Good’ Payday Loans Still Very, Very Expensive
This article spotlights a couple of startups aimed at moving into the payday loan space with better more socially responsible products. The APR’s for these loans are lower than payday loan companies in most all cases but, still, rate begin at 120%. FigLoans and LendUp hope to move customers more toward safer and more legitimate products like credit cards and such as the time goes.