Federal Legislation Would Open the Door for Triple-Digit APR Loans to Enter States with Interest Rate Caps

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Financial Services Committee last night passed H.R. 3299, the so-called Madden bill, which would make it easier for payday lenders and other usurious lenders to use "rent-a-bank" schemes to charge distressed borrowers triple-digit interest rates that would otherwise violate state law. Among those threatened by this legislation and its Senate companion S. 1642 are more than 90 million Americans who live in states with interest-rate caps of 36% or lower on short term loans.

Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Director of Federal Advocacy Scott Astrada released the following statement:

This legislation would spring a debt trap for millions more low-income Americans across the country. Research shows that taking out a payday loan or another usurious loan makes borrowers more likely to enter a cycle of debt, to lose their bank accounts, to lose their car, to lose their homes, and to go bankrupt.

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For more information, or to arrange an interview with a CRL spokesperson on this issue, please contact Matthew Kravitz at matthew.kravitz@responsiblelending.org or 202-349-1859.