Closing shop in N.H.
February 10, 2009 | Nevada, New Hampshire, industry, regulation, states | Comments (0)Read it and weep.
Great moments in the annals of government
February 5, 2009 | New Hampshire, industry, regulation | Comments (0)The New Hampshire legislature, which effectively banned payday loans last year, has extended until November 2010 the date for receiving a study on payday lending. Act first, study later.
N.H. bankers fly into action
January 21, 2009 | New Hampshire, alternatives, industry | Comments (0)It’s been almost a year since New Hampshire imposed a rate cap which essentially ended payday lending in the state, According to this article, New Hampshire bankers are finally getting around to thinking about how to service this market. Who knows, some day in the not to distant future, they may actually come up wiht an idea. In the meantime, New Hampshire consumers won’t have store front payday lenders to turn to for urgent short-term credit.
New Hampshire banks increasing overdraft fees
January 13, 2009 | New Hampshire, alternatives, industry | Comments (1)One fee that will rise at Laconia Savings Bank is the overdraft fee, which is going from $26 to $30. “It’s not a huge amount, but one of the benefits we hope to is see is that, with a higher fee, people will be less likely to overdraw on their accounts,” Murphy said.
So, consumers in New Hampshire no longer have the option of a $15 per $100 payday loan…but they’ll be forced to pay $30 if they overdraw their account. Insanity.
Now, we’ve seen it all
January 11, 2009 | New Hampshire, industry, regulation | Comments (0)A newspaper in New Hampshire gives advice to the payday advance industry by quoting the lyrics from Kenny Roger’s song “The Gambler.” Feel free to sing along.
&!*#*%!$#
January 8, 2009 | New Hampshire, best practices, industry, media coverage, regulation, states | Comments (0)That’s the Payday Pundit letting out a primal scream after reading this garbage in the Concord (N.H.) Monitor. Another bunch of editorial writers who don’t live in the real world.
Tough luck to New Hampshire citizens
January 7, 2009 | New Hampshire, industry, regulation | Comments (0)That would have been the Payday Pundit’s headline on this story about the N.H. Banking Commissioner’s rejection of a payday lender’s request to offer a different service in the state.
Good reasoning, wrong solutions
January 5, 2009 | New Hampshire, alternatives, industry, positive media coverage | Comments (0)We agree with the thrust of this article, payday loans do well because bank fees are high. However, more government regulation is not the answer, competition is.
Payday delay? Tough luck, buddy
January 2, 2009 | New Hampshire, Union Leader, industry, positive media coverage, regulation | Comments (2)Great editorial on the new 36% APR rate cap from New Hampshire’s Union Leader…
Starting today, hundreds of payday lenders’ employees face layoffs and thousands of their would-be customers will rack up late fees and bounced-check fees because legislators and the governor don’t approve of the type of loan they would have taken out to avoid those costs. By legislative and Lynch logic, it is better to pay a $30 bounced-check fee than $20 in interest on a $100 loan.
Payday loans often amount to a bad deal. But in some cases they make sense. Shutting down payday lenders was a disservice. The law ought to be repealed at the first opportunity.
A new service in N.H.?
December 30, 2008 | New Hampshire, alternatives, customers, industry | Comments (1)The nation’s largest payday lending company, Advance America, is asking New Hampshire regulators to approve a new short-term lending service that doesn’t fall under the recently imposed 36% rate cap. From the story:
According to a letter sent to the New Hampshire Banking Commissioner, Advance America wants to switch over to doling out open-ended small loans, which, it claims, are “not legally subject to the 36 percent interest rate cap” on title and payday loans, according to a letter written by attorney Steven Lauwers of Rath, Young & Pignatelli.
“(T)he interest rate on open-end small loans is not capped at 36 percent,” Lauwers wrote in a letter dated Dec. 9. “Instead, any interest rate is permitted, provided it is agreed to in writing by the lender and the borrower.”
Advance America has asked Banking Commissioner Peter Hildreth for his opinion on whether it’s right about the lack of limitations on the interest-rate cap. Hildreth has not made a ruling yet, but he said he’s talking to lawyers and considering the likelihood that Advance America would take its case to court if he rules against it. He said he would likely make a judgment call this week or next.
The Payday Pundit will stay on top of it.
