Installment lenders in today’s Kansas City Star rightly point out that a proposed ballot initiative in the state amounts to an all-out assault on consumer credit that would impact banks, credit unions, and others. We seen this before — righteous, but misguided efforts to help borrowers actually drive them to more expensive and credit-damaging alternatives…

“Removing installment loans as an option for borrowers will force them to look to black market sources or unregulated Internet lenders for the money they need. This must not happen. If Missouri must deal with payday lenders, it must do so in a significantly more targeted way.”