That’s why closing storefronts is bad
November 22, 2008 | Nevada, industry, regulation, states | Comments (1)Nevada officials are concerned about unregulated Internet lending:
The proposed rule wouldn’t prohibit payday lenders with licenses in other states from making loans where they have licenses, but it would eliminate the problem of payday lenders in Nevada violating laws in other states, Burns said.
Burns said he often gets complaints from his counterparts in other states but can only suggest officials from the other state take action against payday lenders who violate their laws.
“Doing business in cyberspace means no rules apply,” Burns said.
The solution: Bar Nevada payday lenders from making any loans over the Internet.
And how about keeping storefronts viable and profitable?
Cowboy capitalism in the U.K.?
November 13, 2008 | Nevada, industry, regulation, states | Comments (0)The Federal Trade Commission has charged several internet payday lenders, mostly based in the U.K., with violating disclosure laws and abusive collection practices. The Payday Pundit has often talked about unregulated internet lenders. If more storefronts close, there will be more of this. From the story:
According to the complaint filed by the FTC and the State of Nevada, through Web sites such as www.cash2today4u.com, the defendants offered consumers loans of $500 or less within 24 hours without requiring a credit check, proof of income, or documentation. Consumers who applied for a loan on the defendants’ Web site were required to provide their bank account and Social Security numbers.
As stated in the complaint, the defendants’ representatives called applicants and told them that they qualified for a loan, typically around $200, that had to be repaid by their next payday with a fee ranging from $35 to $80. They explained that if the loan was not repaid by then, it would be extended automatically for an extra fee that would be debited from the consumer’s bank account “until the loan is repaid.” Consumers were required to give the defendants access to their accounts for payment of the fees. Some consumers were told to call the defendants before their payday to ask them to debit the full loan amount from their accounts.
Hang ‘em.
“Easy Money” shooting in New Mexico
August 19, 2008 | Nevada, industry, media coverage, states | Comments (0)No one got shot. We’re talking about the TV Drama to air on the CW Network this Fall. It’s about a family that owns a payday lending store. The Las Vegas Sun was on the set:
New Mexico started a tax incentive program for the movie business, and it’s working quite well, at least measured by the number of movies and TV shows being shot here. Economists are genearally leery of these programs, which are often just giveaways to big business, who wind up blackmailing everyone for more and more tax breaks. So we’ll see if New Mexico is getting any bang for its buck, and whether Nevada could be doing more. (We certainly do a lot for two industries, but the question is, what can we do to draw others?)
We were on the set of “Easy Money,” whose executive producers were writers on “The Sopranos.” It will be on the CW in the fall. It stars Judge Reinhold. Hey, who remembers the scene in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” when….oh, this is a family newspaper, after all.
