Posts tagged as:

payday lending

Payday loans prove irresistable, even to those who know better

July 28, 2009

Payday loans are small, short-term, high-interest loans. Most are less than $400, with a term of two weeks or less. In exchange, the consumer generally pays $15 for every $100 borrowed, or a 360% APR. (Even high-interest credit cards generally charge less than 30% APR.)
Most consumers roll over the loan several times, incurring an additional [...]

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A look inside a check cashing and payday lending business

July 13, 2009

An amusing and terrifying look inside two shady types of businesses that will fleece you every way they can, from check cashing fees to postage for a premium.

As Ben Popken says “I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of paying someone for my own money.”
Other Video | Ben Popken

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Payday lenders are corporate loan sharks

April 29, 2009

A big part of the payday lending story that somehow does not get much play is the comparison to the loan sharks of the past and the historical animosity towards usury. The Salt Lake Tribune has a good story of the dangers of predatory lending, but even better is that it brings up these points. [...]

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Payday lending coincides with increased bankruptcy filings

April 2, 2009

But is payday lending a cause of increased bankruptcy filings? In a paper from last September, Professors Paige Skiba (Vanderbilt Univ. Law School) and Jeremy Tobacman (Univ. of Pennsylvania), say yes for Chapter 13 reorganizations, by about 2.5%. They also found that for payday loan customers filing Chapter 13 bankruptcies, a whopping 11% of their [...]

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Payday loans under fire in the Minnesota legislature

March 18, 2009

There are two bills (HF0914 & HF1471) pending in the Minnesota legislature. HF0914 would eliminate payday loans entirely. HF1471 would impose some regulations on payday lenders and adds a private right of action for consumers, with attorney fees and costs.
Minnesota Public Radio has more on why payday lending is under scrutiny and at risk of [...]

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Think again before signing up for that payday loan

December 22, 2008

Many families are finding it hard to make ends meet this holiday season, let alone buy presents for loved ones. Payday loans may look like a good way to raise funds for presents, but look at that annual percentage rate (APR) before you jump in.
Payday loans provide an opportunity to to get quick cash, and [...]

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Check cashing, payday lending, and the rise of the alternative banking industry

November 18, 2008

I just read the NYT Magazine article Check Cashers, Redeemed on the rise of the alternate financial industry and would highly recommend it.
The article looks at the recent rise of alternative banking through Nix Check Cashing, which is now owned by Kinecta Federal Credit Union. It is interesting because Kinecta is trying to integrate Nix [...]

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Voters in Arizona and Ohio reject payday lending

November 13, 2008

Sarah Byrnes of Americans for Fairness in Lending is an occasional guest contributor to Caveat Emptor.
Great news for consumers and advocates – citizens in Ohio and Arizona voted on Tuesday, November 4th to reject payday lending.  Ballot measures proposed by the industry were soundly defeated in both states, showing that voters weren’t swayed by the [...]

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Payday loan measures on ballots in Ohio and Arizona

October 27, 2008

Sarah Byrnes of Americans for Fairness in Lending is an occasional guest contributor to Caveat Emptor.
In addition to all the other excitement surrounding this election, Ohioans and Arizonans will get the chance to vote on payday loan protections on November 4.  If you live in either of those states and you read this blog, you [...]

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Enacted Payday Lending Legislation – 2008 Session

September 18, 2008

Enacted Payday Lending Legislation – 2008 Session | Nat’l Conference of State Legislatures (via Payday Lending Association)

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Predatory Lending Association: dedicated to extracting maximum profit from the working poor

September 18, 2008

The website of the Predatory Lending Association* is chock-full of great information for payday lenders, such as racial profiling tools, tips on lending to members of the military (no, 20 payday loan stores by a military base are not too many), and a working poor finder, which uses Google Maps to help predatory lenders find [...]

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Growth in payday lending

April 23, 2008

This Payday America store is going into a huge space across from one of my favorite coffee shops in Minneapolis.

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Payday holiday: do we need a vacation from payday lending?

December 17, 2007

In a new staff study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Donald Morgan and Michael Strain take another look at whether payday loans are predatory or, in Morgan’s terms, welfare enhancing. This time around, Morgan takes a look at the “afermath” when Georgia and North Carolina banned payday lending.
(Dr. Morgan has commented on [...]

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Nick Slade joins the Caveat Emptor blog

November 29, 2007

Consumer attorney Nick Slade has joined the Caveat Emptor blog as a contributing editor. Nick has been taking consumer cases since 2000, when he refocused his practice from criminal defense to consumer law.
Nick deals with a variety of consumer issues, including auto fraud, equity stripping (also called foreclosure rescue scams), predatory lending, the Truth-In-Lending Act, [...]

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