Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

A report released in January of 2023 attempts to provide cover for the predatory practices of payday lenders, who charge average 400% annual interest on loans that routinely create a long-term cycle of debt that sends borrowers into deep financial insecurity. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that 75% of payday lender fees are collected from borrowers with 10...

Previous research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has revealed the harms associated with high-cost installment loans, which are often marketed to subprime borrowers and have annual percentage rates of interest (APRs) in excess of 36%. This paper explores a different segment of the installment loan market: loans made by consumer finance companies with rates at or below 36%...

In this letter, several financial services industry and consumer groups expressed support for legislation, introduced in the U.S. Senate, to close the industrial loan company (ILC) charter loophole, the “Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act."

Over the past decade, the high-cost small-dollar loan market, once dominated by short-term balloon payment payday loans, has seen the rise of high-cost installment loans with longer terms. Payday loans are typically repaid in a lump-sum, usually due in 14-day periods. Installment loans tend to be larger in size and repaid in several installments, typically over a period of several...

The market for personal loans is massive and growing, yet the fintechs and other non-bank lenders who make such loans are not subject to regular oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has “created an unlevel playing field and a large risk to consumers,” write the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The...

On July 8, the Center for Responsible Lending, California Reinvestment Coalition, Consumer Federation of California, National Consumer Law Center, Public Law Center, and UC Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice filed an amicus brief in Los Angeles County (California) Superior Court in Opportunity Financial v. Hewlett. Opportunity Financial v. Hewlett addresses the legality of Opportunity Financial’s “rent-a-bank” scheme...

From the introduction to the comment: Accountable.US, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients), Public Citizen, US PIRG and the Woodstock Institute submit these comments in connection with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination of Transportation Alliance Bank (dba TAB Bank). TAB...

The exploding market of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) credit demands the same level of oversight that we give to credit cards. BNPL can help some borrowers spread out their payments, but entails real risks and costs, which is not clear in advertisements highlighting interest-free payments and “no impact” on credit scores. Regulation is necessary to protect consumers from hidden...

A broad coalition of bank and credit union associations and consumer organizations submitted a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services urging passage of the bipartisan Close the ILC Loophole Act. The bill would help prevent more companies from running what is essentially a bank without the necessary regulatory oversight.

The group letter begins: The undersigned 77 consumer, housing, civil rights, legal services, faith, community, small business, student borrower, and public interest organizations appreciate the opportunity to comment on the CFPB’s inquiry into Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) credit products that are proliferating across market areas. We welcome the CFPB’s recent inquiry into Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip, however...