What are the Sandlers up to?
September 10, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending | Comments (0)From a Financial Times story today, “Golden couple refuse to shoulder blame”:
The Sandlers were seen as selling out at the top of the market, taking home a cool $2.3bn in cash and Wachovia stock for their stake in the company.
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The Sandlers, for their part, have continued vigorously to defend their role in the mortgage business – rejecting suggestions that the Golden West portfolio was solely responsible for Wachovia’s fall from grace.
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The Sandlers declined to comment. The former chief executives, now in their late 70s, are focused on philanthropic work in support of causes such as the American Asthma Foundation and the Center for Responsible Lending, a non-profit organisation fighting predatory lending practices.
Shariah compliant payday loans
September 2, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, industry, international | Comments (0)Payday loans have reached the Arab world. From the article:
A new kind of credit is available to people burdened with loans or strapped for cash.
These lending mechanisms include features such as allowing cash-strapped people to borrow against up to 18 months worth of paychecks and introductory four-month waivers on payments, according to ad stickers that are affixed to many ATMs in Riyadh streets, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported on Sunday. They also claim that the operations are in compliance with Shariah. These services are more prominent during Ramadan, when people need extra cash to make it through the month of hosting suhur gatherings and buying Eid goodies to celebrate the end of the fasting month.
We’re waiting for Center for Responsbile Lending to comment on these loans.
But when they do it, it’s ok?
August 14, 2009 | Associated Press, Center for Responsible Lending | Comments (2)CRL spent $140,000 lobbying in the second quarter, according to the Associated Press.
Well, do you?
August 14, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, Wisconsin, local issues | Comments (0)Lisa Kaiser over at the Express Milwaukee claims to ponder whether Wisconsin needs payday lenders, but actually just recycles every misguided and CRL-fueled argument in the book. What particularly interests me is when she finally gets around to discussing alternatives. I’ll applaud her for actually looking out for consumers who do need short term credit, but this doesn’t really sound like an alternative to me:
Those seeking a loan must become members of a credit union, which typically means opening an account and depositing $25. Credit unions provide financial counseling and, like banks, will consider one’s ability to pay off the loan. Henzig said credit unions offer loans as little as $500, and some will even issue a loan of $100 if someone truly needs that money.
So how long does it take to become a member of a credit union? Are there fees associated with that beyond the $25 initial deposit? CFSA payday lenders offer financial counseling and of course they consider a borrower’s ability to pay off the loan–having the loan paid off is how they get their money back. Apparently if you need a $100 loan, you have to convince someone that you really really really need it–certainly the kind of decision I prefer for someone else to make for me. But, at least in the event that you can’t convince someone you need a $100 loan, you’ll be welcomed to borrow more than you need in the form of a $500 loan. I assume this $500 loan has some sort of interest or fees associated with it, but certainly there’s no need to include that in the story. After all, had the story included those interest and fees, we could see if the credit union actually saves consumers money…particularly while they’re forcing consumers to borrow more than they need.
Nothing like good reporting to start your Friday.
This was predictable
August 5, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, alternatives, industry | Comments (1)Center for Responsible Lending wants credit unions to lower the cost of their short-term loans. Maybe Center for Responsible Lending should get into the short-term loan business and show everybody how it’s done. Let’s see how long they stay in business.
Small banks hate it, too
July 11, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, industry | Comments (0)The Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposal:
Christopher Williston, president and CEO of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, said he and other lobbyists from Texas and across the country have been asking members of Congress to reject the proposal to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate home mortgages, credit cards and other forms of consumer lending.
Williston said he’s not opposed to preventing the unscrupulous practices that led to the meltdown of the financial system. But he said community banks — and their customers — should not be forced to “pay for the sins” of the bigger banks.
RTO weighs in
July 10, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, industry | Comments (0)CFSA responds to CRL
July 9, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, industry, research | Comments (0)Statement of D. Lynn DeVault, board chair of Community Financial Services Association of America:
“Center for Responsible Lending cannot seem to look at data and apply a common sense analysis. Let’s be clear about the demand for payday advances. Consumers find themselves with an urgent need to pay a bill before payday. They survey their choices—payday advances, bank or credit union loans, overdraft protection, title loans, borrowing from family members, pawnshops or credit card advances. They also carefully weigh how much each will cost them in simple dollars and cents. Many choose a payday loan.
“Now we agree with Center for Responsible Lending that sometimes one payday advance is not enough. The financial hit the consumer took—a car repair, a hospital bill, a utility bill payment—might not be resolved. But after a payday advance, consumers still have all the other options. The fact they many choose another payday advance is evidence that we offer a strong alternative to the other services.
“We offer consumers a solution to short-term finanical problems. Center for Responsible Lending offers them sympathy and moral support.”
Getting media attention
July 9, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, industry, research | Comments (0)That’s what the Center for Responsible Lending is best at. It has a new report out today. We haven’t reviewed it carefully, but CRL’s previous use of regulator data has been disputed by the firm that collects the data. We’ll have more on today’s report later, but this is what was said when CRL last tried this:
“The Center for Responsible Lending recently published a report with conclusions that may not accurately reflect references to information published under regulatory programs in place for the State of Florida and Oklahoma.
That’s the polite way of saying they lied.
Paying taxes with plastic
July 7, 2009 | Center for Responsible Lending, alternatives, industry | Comments (0)From a story out of Ohio:
The number of Ohioans charging state taxes to cards such as MasterCard, Visa, Discover or American Express is up almost 50 percent in the past three years, even though the number of people who owe money after withholding is down. The state has collected $38.1 million in card payments from 81,200 tax filers in the past five years, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.
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The increased use of credit cards to pay taxes could be a danger sign that people are becoming more financially stretched, said Kathy Virgallito of Consumer Credit Counseling in Columbus.
Ya think?
