“Some CU Payday Loan Alternatives Not Alternatives”

Larry Meyers has a thought about one of our critics:

let’s see: A 24 year-old chem/biology major who “makes a living as a trader” opining on the payday loan industry. A brief survey of the comments left on his column show that he not only is an idiot, but blathers on about payday loans being ‘Evil” The only “evil” around here is that the internet allows any moron with a keyboard to have a voice.

The Check ‘n Go blogger discusses a story that the Payday Pundit posted yesterday.

We’re actually just spoofing the headline of their latest post.

This Wall Street Journal headline caught my eye:  In Banks Profit Push, “Era of Low Fees is Over”.      From the story:

“All depositories are trying to raise any little fee, whether on loans, deposits or transaction accounts,” said Mike Moebs, founder of Moebs Services Inc., which collects data on fees from nearly every U.S. bank and credit union. “The era of low fees is over.”

The upward trend reflects pressure on bank executives nationwide to turn in profits — or at least minimize losses — as loans to homeowners and businesses turn sour.

For these people.

This paper is catching up to the fact that there is a fight over the Consumer Finance Protection Agency: 

The CFPA would write the user-safety rules for virtually all consumer financial products, and would have the legal firepower to levy huge fines – tens of thousands of dollars a day per violation in some cases – and prosecute lenders, brokers and others who break the rules.

The agency would be the dominant federal consumer protector in all home real estate settlements. It would regulate “affiliated” title, escrow and financing businesses connected with realty firms and builders. It would oversee equal credit opportunity and fair housing, and would set standards for all mortgage offerings, whether from the biggest national banks or the smallest local brokers. Generally it wouldn’t seek outright bans on mortgage products that carry elevated risks – interest-only loans, for instance – but would require that lenders restrict such mortgages to well-informed applicants who can document that they understand the risks and afford the payments.

That sort of rhymes.   But in reading this Green Bay Press Gazette editorial calling for “regulations” on payday loans such as a 36% rate cap, the only thing that came to mind was: “a 36% rate cap is a ban!”

Yes, if your job, your business, your employees and your customers rely on the payday loan product then SUPPORT CFSA and get involved!

At a minimum, pay your membership, become extremely knowledgeable regarding the FACTS about payday loans, and defend the payday loan product!

Finally, someone noticed that banks are in the payday lending business, too.   However, the reporter makes ridiculous, unproven assertions.   From the story:

Once the sole domain of freestanding, paycheque-cashing storefronts, payday loans are proven to send borrowers deeper into debt {what utter B.S. Research disputes this charge conclusively}, while making massive profits for the lender {More B.S.  Payday lenders make modest profits}, according to the National Consumer Law Centre.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation changed a rule in 2005 to allow banks to enter the lucrative market of payday lending. In 2008, the FDIC issued guidelines for bank payday loans, with a suggested cap of 36 percent interest.

Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and other banks have chosen not to follow the voluntary guidelines and instead are charging triple-digit interest on payday loans to cash-strapped customers, according to consumer organisations.