Research & Analysis
The payday lending industry frequently supports what they call reform of their own industry in state legislative battles, because they know that most of the measures in debate will not slow the rate at which they can make repeat payday loans to the same borrower. Our report, Phantom Demand, shows how the industry depends on “churned” borrowers, those who have to take a new loan before their next payday, for three quarters of their business.
In public, payday lenders say their loans are for infrequent use. In private, they say things like this: "The theory in the business is you've got to get that customer in, work to turn him into a repetitive customer, long-term customer, because that's really where the profitability is." (Dan Feehan, CEO of Cash America, remarks made at the Jeffries Financial Services Conference, 6-20-07)
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- Advocates Support Proposed Restrictions on Bank Payday Lending
May 30, 2013CRL and allies urge the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to implement and strengthen their proposed guidance to restrict "deposit advance" (i.e., payday loans) by the banks they supervise. AARP, Consumer Federation of America, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, the National Consumer Law Center and the National Council of La Raza joined CRL in submitting these comments.
- All Federal Credit Unions Should Shun Payday Lending
May 16, 2013 - Triple-Digit Danger: Bank Payday Lending Persists
March 21, 2013Banks making payday loans continue to trap customers in a cycle of debt, according to a CRL study, "Triple-Digit Danger: Bank Payday Lending Persists." Banks pitch payday loans as short-term borrowing that allows customers to deal with a financial emergency, repay the loan, and move on. In fact, this new study provides further evidence that these triple-digit interest rate loans, averaging from 225% to 300% APR, trap borrowers in a long-term cycle of repeat loans.
- New York Times Article on Banks Aiding Payday Loans: There's Even More to the Story
February 26, 2013On February 23, the New York Times published an article describing how some banks enable Internet payday lending. In this brief, CRL provides additional legal context to supplement that article. Bottom line: We need to continue passing state laws that provide strong enforcement tools, and federal regulators need to use their full authority to stop predatory payday loans.
- U.S. Senators ask Regulators to Stop Bank Payday Lending
January 7, 2013Five U.S. Senators have asked the OCC, the FDIC and the Federal Reserve to stop the banks under their respective jurisdictions from making predatory payday loans. At least four big banks have started making the triple-digit interest loans, which are virtually identical to the predatory payday loans that trap borrowers in long-term, high-cost harmful debt.
