Floor vote today in Ohio
May 12, 2010 | Ohio, regulation | Comments (0)House Committee voted yesterday. From the story:
A bill to clamp down on the fees charged by payday lenders in Ohio is headed to the full House for a vote today, despite pleas yesterday from some store owners and black community leaders who argued it would shut off needed credit.
Ohio & “loopholes”
May 11, 2010 | Ohio, industry, regulation | Comments (0)A story about the so-called loophole legislation in the Marietta Times:
Jamie Fulmer, director of investor relations for South Carolina-based Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc., said the proposed bill continues to threaten the payday lending industry in Ohio.
“I’ve always advocated for operating in a regulatory environment, but I think this (and HB 545 in 2008) is a multi-layered attack to put our industry out of business,” he said. “And if they close us down, the consumers would lose access to short-term financial solutions.”
Fulmer noted that after the 2008 legislation, more than 700 “storefront” payday lending businesses closed in Ohio with a loss of more than 2,500 jobs.
Illinois
May 11, 2010 | Illinois, industry, regulation | Comments (0)Sorry, I’ve been so wrapped up in federal issues, I haven’t been watching this:
The Illinois General Assembly is on the cusp of capping for the first time the interest rates that consumer finance companies can charge borrowers.
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The Payday Loan Reform Act, meanwhile, would be amended to increase the allowed terms of the loans to six months from four. Remaining the same is the limit of charging no more than $15.50 per $100 loaned out every two weeks.
At the same time, payday lenders won’t be allowed to offer their loans under the Consumer Loan Installment Act, a law that is meant to apply to loans secured by car titles and signed-check loans made by credit-card companies and other consumer finance firms.
“The agreement is historic in Illinois,” says Lynda DeLaforgue, co-director of Citizen Action Illinois. “We will for the first time have set rates on these unsecured loans made to the most vulnerable borrowers.”
A representative of the association representing many of the state’s largest payday lenders called the deal fair, but said it would result in fewer lenders.
Bad journalism
May 10, 2010 | Pennsylvania, industry | Comments (0)Strange headline from the Philly Inquirer: “High-end payday loans.” The story, however, is about pawn shops. As you know, there is no payday lending in Pennsylvania.
So
May 10, 2010 | Wisconsin, industry | Comments (0)This article in the Janesville Gazette implies that there are too many payday lending stories in the town and provides helpful measurements of the distances between some stores. Of couse, they don’t tell us what the correct distance between stores would be.
“a vital service”
May 9, 2010 | Ohio, industry | Comments (1)Checksmart Financial’s CEO Ted Saunders in today’s Toledo Blade:
Independent research validates the consumer benefits of short-term credit. Studies by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and George Washington University’s business school conclude that consumers make measured decisions, weighing short-term loans against alternatives in the marketplace.
Customers choose our service because it can save them money – particularly compared with the costs of overdraft protection, unregulated offshore Internet loans, or fees associated with bounced checks or late bill payments.
Relentless in Ohio
May 9, 2010 | Ohio, industry | Comments (1)The silly editorials won’t stop coming. From today’s Mansfield News Journal:
House Bill 486 is a law that absolutely makes sense at this time in our state. It stops the economic predators who have found a way to take advantage of those who are the most vulnerable.
It absolutely makes sense to lose more jobs and limit access to credit for working people?
By request
May 7, 2010 | Ohio, industry | Comments (0)The Ohio story we had trouble linking to yesterday..
This explains it
May 6, 2010 | California, federal legislation, industry | Comments (0)Why the Los Angeles Times has been losing readership year in and year out and will go bankrupt in the near future. It’s because they are out of touch with Americans, are anti-business, and are spoon fed by Left-wing activists to write stories like this:
The lenders, notorious for high fees and interest rates, have been pressing vulnerable customers to help them kill the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
How many loaded words can one reporter put in one sentence? I count three: “notorious,” “pressing” and “vulnerable.” Objectivity is out the window with most reporters these days.
By request
May 6, 2010 | Wisconsin, federal legislation, industry | Comments (4)A reader sent us this important Wisconsin-related article: (I know, link is not working. Something wrong at their end.)
Rep. Matt Lundy (D), is again trying to garner support for a bill that would greatly affect local payday lending businesses. His first bill, HB 209, stalled in Ohio’s “FIRES” committee, aided by democrats who felt that Mr. Lundy’s proposal was not in the best interest of Ohio’s small businesses.
Although studies from both the Federal Reserve and the FDIC concluded that payday lending contributes to the public welfare, representative Lundy is again taking on the payday loan industry.
