Payday loan bans hurt consumers
April 23, 2010 | Colorado, industry, regulation | Comments (0)From a guest op-ed in the Denver Post:
Economists agree: Eliminating payday loans as an option for consumers has disastrous consequences for those who utilize them. We’ve already seen what happens when other states outlaw these short-term infusions of cash. It remains to be seen whether Colorado will fall into the same trap.
Comparing Oregon, which has placed a rate cap on payday loan that drove three-quarters of the lenders out of business, to Washington, which has no cap, Zinman measured both subjective assessments (i.e., how people felt) and more objective measures like employment status. He found that people fared worse in both regards.
More Colorado details
April 20, 2010 | Colorado, industry, regulation | Comments (0)A fuller story on the Colorado bill:
After remaining in limbo for weeks while supporters tried to round up votes, a bill slashing interest rates on payday loans narrowly passed the House on Monday.
Now the legislation, House Bill 1351, faces another uphill battle in the Senate.
Under the bill, payday lenders in Colorado could not charge more than a 45 percent interest rate — expressed as an annual percentage — on loans. The bill also limits them to charging no more than a $50 origination fee.
This is a day ruiner
April 19, 2010 | Colorado, industry, regulation | Comments (0)The Colorado bill, HB 1351 just passed out of the House by a vote of 33-31. We’re taking the fight to the Senate.
Rocky Mountain low
April 15, 2010 | Colorado, industry, regulation | Comments (0)House action today in Colorado. From the story:
The Colorado House has given initial approval to a bill that would limit payday loan rates after lawmakers said borrowers are getting into a vicious cycle of debt.
The measure (House Bill 1351) would limit interest rates to 45 percent annually, down from a maximum 300 percent. It also would allow lenders to charge a $50 fee once a year.
Unfair use of the word
April 12, 2010 | Colorado, industry, regulation | Comments (0)These Colorado lawmakers think it’s “fair” to impose a 36% rate cap. Certainly, it’s not “fair” to consumers who will lose access to short-term credit.
Against a new agency!
March 29, 2010 | Colorado, federal legislation, industry | Comments (0)Wow. The Denver Post editorial page has come out against creating a new agency:
Instead, we’d rather see a focused return to fundamentals than creation of a new, all-encompassing government agency. To begin with, Dodd’s CFPA proposal is a watered-down version of a plan passed in the House that would have created a much stronger and more independent consumer-protection agency.
Maybe the tide is turning.
The nanny-staters are in full force
March 25, 2010 | Colorado, federal legislation, industry | Comments (0)Lots of columns and stories like this one and this one and this one about how if the Consumer Financial Protection Agency isn’t an “independent” agency it will be Armageddon.
No mention in these pieces about how consumers will get access to credit.
Backstage in Colorado
March 25, 2010 | Colorado, industry, regulation | Comments (0)From the story:
The war to regulate payday loans in Colorado continues behind the scenes at the capitol here. Lobbyists and lawmakers are working hard to shore up votes for and against legislation introduced by Denver Democrats Rep. Mark Ferrandino and Sen. Chris Romer weeks ago. The bill is stalled for now as negotiations over proposed amendments continue.
“We are working the bill hard,” Ferrandino told the Colorado Independent. “And, as you know, the other side is definitely working it hard, too.”
Ferrandino laid the bill over after heated debate erupted around it on the floor of the House last Thursday, leading him to believe the bill might fail to pass.
They’re fighting for their jobs
March 23, 2010 | Colorado, industry | Comments (0)Now journalists are complaining that employees are lobbying their legislators. Maybe we should lock legislators away so they can’t have communication with anyone.
Oh, Lord
March 18, 2010 | Colorado, industry | Comments (0)That’s my attempt at a humor in response to this story.
