Montana Voters Reject Payday Loan Abuses
Montana yesterday became the third state in two years to reject payday loans carrying triple-digit interest rates. Citizens in the state overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to limit annual interest rates on small consumer loans to 36 percent. With nearly all precincts counted, 72 percent of voters backed the measure, thus rejecting industry arguments intended to conceal that payday lenders' profits depend on churning— trapping borrowers in a cycle of repeat loans that generate mounting fees and interest charges. Nationally, the average payday borrower takes out nine loans each year