Ohio’s Buckeye Institute: Batchelder, Hagan Wrong About Payday Loans
March 21, 2008 | Ohio, industry, positive media coverage, research, states | Comments (0)Marc Kilmer, a policy analyst with the Columbus, OH-based Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions has written a piece critical of Ohio’s legislators.
Ohioans did not send legislators to Columbus to make their personal financial decisions for them. Considering the poor state of Ohio’s budget, it seems ironic that some in Columbus think their time is best spent focusing on the financial choices of others.
Kilmer previously authored the study Consumer Choice vs. Over-Regulation.
Industry responds to Arkansas AG letter
March 20, 2008 | Arkansas, Pine Bluff Commercial, industry, media coverage, regulation, states | Comments (0)Jamie Fulmer of Advance America and Cheney Pruett of the Arkansas Financial Services Association are defending the industry in response to the Arkansas AG’s threatening letter to payday lenders.
There are 4,678 banks in Ohio
March 20, 2008 | Dayton Daily News, Ohio, industry, media coverage, research, states | Comments (0)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.”
Survey: What happens if your paycheck is delayed?
March 19, 2008 | alternatives, customers, industry, research | Comments (0)A survey from the National Payroll Association found that 67% of Americans would have a difficult time meeting their current financial obligations if their next paycheck were to be delayed one week.
Food for thought for policymakers who want to limit short-term credit options.
If faced with unbudgeted expenses, consumers choose between not paying certain bills, borrowing from friends/family/church, taking a cash advance on a credit card, borrowing from a bank or credit union (if they’ll lend a few hundred bucks) or taking an advance from a payday lender.
Making the fine print….BIGGER
March 19, 2008 | best practices, industry | Comments (0)With all of the talk of fee and market transparency in the credit markets…Payday Pundit wants to remind everyone of the steps the payday lending industry has proactively taken to address the concern over hidden fees and fine print.
Frontline’s special on credit cards is a real eye opener
March 19, 2008 | alternatives, industry | Comments (0)Last night on PBS, Frontline re-ran a program called: Secret History of the Credit Card. The show highlighted some facts about credit cards that make the criticisms about payday lending look like child’s play.
What Payday Pundit found particularly interesting is that by paying only the minimum balance every month, it could take you 35 years to pay it off in full!
Also of note was the fine print found on all of the credit card agreements. The fine print is in stark contrast to the fees displayed on posters in large type in all CFSA member company payday lending stores.
For consumers, Frontline lists ”8 Important Things a Credit Card User Should Know.”
It’s ironic that so-called consumer activists would advocate that credit card cash advances are a better option than payday loans.
Holy cow!
March 18, 2008 | Center for Responsible Lending, alternatives, industry, industry critics | Comments (0)According to this story, one bounced check led to $3000 in overdraft fees. Where are Center for Responsible Lending and nanny-state lawmakers? Shouldn’t they be holding hearings, calling for rate caps?
Mike Strong lives up to his name
March 18, 2008 | El Dorado Times, Kansas, employees, industry, local issues, media coverage, states | Comments (0)A payday lender from El Dorado, KS, Mike Strong, engaged is some fairly vigorous debate with anti-payday loan activists. Mike deserves lots of kudos for walking into the lion’s den and putting up a fight. There are a lot of Mike Strongs in the industry, but we can always use more.
Your tax dollars at work
March 18, 2008 | Memphis Daily News, Tennessee, industry, industry critics, media coverage, regulation, states | Comments (0)This story highlights the activities of a government-paid busybody–the community affairs specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,– who thinks it’s her job to put payday lenders out of business. She says she’s just advocating for “cheaper alternatives” but this “advocacy” seems to cross the line. So the industry is now paying taxes to pay the salaries of people who want to put it out of business.
The assault on market transparency
March 17, 2008 | best practices, industry, positive media coverage | Comments (0)Interesting post from Steele Street Blog, The Assault on Market Transparency:
“When a free market works it is a beautiful think. Adam Smith’s invisible hand graces many a bargain from flat screen TV’s to fast food. Supply and demand work as opposing forces in a tug of war as the market sets the price of goods and services. This process works when purchasers are able compare the quality of goods and services along with their price, among multiple sellers.”
We could not agree more. The best way to protect consumers is to give them the
information they need to make an informed choice. Consumers demand and deserve full disclosure of relevant information before they make a purchase.
To that end, CFSA member companies are required to display their fees in large type on posters in all of their stores. Before entering into the transaction, customers can compare the fee with their alternatives and decide if the product is right for them.
