Bleeding the Borrower Dry

New York Times
March 4, 2013

Fifteen states, including New York, have banned high-interest payday loans; but offshore lenders increasingly are skirting state laws by issuing these loans online. Some banks in New York profit from these loans by allowing Internet lenders to automatically withdraw payments from the borrower’s account, sometimes without the account holder's permission. Overdrawing on the accounts subsequently allows the banks to collect overdraft fees. Federal law allows bank customers to revoke automatic withdrawal privileges or close an account when they choose. In a federal lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank, one plaintiff claimed that she asked the bank in March 2012 to close her account but that it remained open for two months. In those two months, payday lenders tried to charge her about 55 times, racking up $1,523 in fees. Scenarios like these are not limited to New York, according to a newspaper editorial, which emphasizes the need for action on both the state and federal levels. The Safe Lending Act, currently pending in the U.S. Senate, would require all online lenders to comply with state laws meant to protect customers. Additionally, the editorial concludes, state and federal regulators must ban banks from allowing payday lenders to access automatic payment systems in states where the loans are not permitted.
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