Laura A. Bischoff of the Dayton Daily News did ask the industry to comment on a new report in Ohio, so I guess we should be thankful.  The fact that she ended up included a two-sentence quote, in the last line of the article…we’ll that’s another story. 

Read CFSA’s full statement.

Letter to editor published in today’s Dayton Daily News:

Which is bigger drain on economy?
In an Aug. 3 Dayton Daily News article, Sandy Theis claimed that the effort to urge voters to repeal part of Ohio’s new restrictions on the payday industry is “a drain on the economy.” That’s a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black.

On one hand, you have the payday industry, which has stores in almost every city, employs thousands of workers and provides short-term financial assistance for Ohioans in need.

On the other hand, you have supporters of H.B. 545, which shuts down the payday industry and puts the jobs of myself and more than 6,000 people at risk.
Now you tell me: Which is the greatest drain on the economy?

Jessica Tipton, Dayton

http://www.daytondailynews.com/search/content/oh/story/opinions/editorial/2008/08/25/hjn082508voice.html
Pubished in Dayton Daily New’s Community Voice:

Monday, August 25, 2008

Paragraph 8 of the Aug. 19 editorial about payday lenders states a $300 loan for two weeks at 28 percent APR is $18 profit for the payday lenders. Actually $18 extra to the lender would be 156 percent interest while 28 percent APR would leave the lender with a mere $3.23 fee for the two-week loan. I wouldn’t loan my money to a stranger for that amount and neither would any other lender. Further, these borrowers can’t get a loan from a bank or credit union and don’t qualify for a credit card and seldom qualify for a checking account. While the fees are outrageous to most of us, it seems a fair charge to the less than credit worthy among us.

They put restrictions on check cashing and payday loan stores.  Here’s the update in the Dayton Daily News. 

Another city council in Ohio is considering a “moratorium” on payday lending.  According to this article, the city of Xenia would halt licenses for check cashers and payday lending stories for a year.   Darryl Dever, a lobbyist for the state association, defends the industry:

    “They are reacting to the emotional side of sensational claims people throw out there,” Dever said. “People make a conscious decision to use this product.”

A new study that says there are 1,638 payday lending stores in Ohio seems to be a very big story in the state. The above statistic, left out of every single story, is from this FDIC website that the Payday Pundit found in eight seconds.  You would have thought that at least one reporter would have found this to be an interesting comparison.  The industry has a good man in Ohio disputing this type of nonsense.  His quote is priceless:

“Daryl Dever, lobbyist for the Ohio Financial Services Association, dismissed the study as “more garbage, more junk.” He said it was natural that the industry has grown since it started in 1995 with no stores.

Dever dismissed the testers’ findings, calling them “third-party stuff. You can say anything you want to say.”