What is a “Rent-a-Bank” scheme? In the 1990s-mid 2000s, predatory lenders partnered with banks to evade state interest rate caps. In response, federal regulators, the FDIC and OCC, cracked down on this practice. Now, under the Trump Administration, this scheme is reemerging and going unchecked. In fact, the FDIC and OCC have issued proposed rules that could bless this practice, allowing predatory lenders to issue loans of more than 100% APR in states that have interest rate caps of much less, often around 36%.
Download this factsheet to learn how the rent-a-bank scheme works. (PDF)