ProPublia reports that, “[f]acing financial ruin, the Lac du Flambeau tribe began offering short-term loans online with annual rates often over 600%. But as the tribe rose in an industry derided for predatory practices, it put its reputation at risk and drew costly lawsuits.” The article is here.
Category Archives: Predatory Lending
A home equity line of credit, or “HELOC,” is a loan product that allows a consumer to borrow money, using their equity in their home as collateral. William Lyons had taken out a HELOC from a predecessor to PNC Bank. Years later, PNC withdrew money from Lyons’ deposit account to offset outstanding payments on the […]
Today, the CFPB released a report about a form of home seller financing called “contract-for-deed” financing, under which the seller agrees to turn over a home’s deed only after the buyer completes a series of payments. The report found that such deals often involve inflated home prices, high interest rates, and balloon payments — and […]
Today, ProPublica published a story about the lending activity of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, a Wisconsin tribe whose various companies generated than 2,200 consumer complaints to the FTC since 2019 — more than any other tribe in recent years. The Tribe’s affiliated entities regularly issued online loans with annual […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ready to take on predatory lending again. After the payday lenders association delayed a rule for years with a lawsuit challenging the regulation as well as the bureau’s constitutionality – a challenge the payday loan industry recently lost before the Supreme Court – the CFPB is bringing payday protections […]
Some years back, I had major surgery. When I woke up after the surgery, I was on fentanyl for pain relief. The following day, I was stepped down to morphine. Morphine was less effective at blocking the pain, but the staff explained that it was too risky to keep me on fentanyl. And in the […]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Predatory Lending
NCLC’s Lauren Saunders on payday lenders’ vow to continue battling the CFPB rule: “It’s a sign of how fundamentally predatory your business model is, that after they’ve made unaffordable loans and put people into a debt trap, they can’t even comply with a rule that merely prevents them from continuing to hit people’s accounts.”
That quote appears in an article by Polo Rocha in the American Banker headlined After loss at Supreme Court, payday lenders vow to keep fighting CFPB (behind paywall but available on Lexis). As the article explains “The CFPB rule, which has never taken effect, would prohibit payday lenders from making another attempt after a payment fails […]
The Center for Responsible Lending has issued a report, Not Free: The Large Hidden Costs of Small-Dollar Loans Made Through Cash Advance Apps. Here’s the Executive Summary and Key Findings: Earned wage advances (EWA) and cash advance products are small, short-term loans that are typically repaid on the consumer’s next payday either directly from a […]
The Michigan Senate yesterday passed bills to cap interest rates on quick-cash loans at 36% annually. Currently, Michigan allows short-term, high-interest cash advance loans that come due on the borrower’s next payday, with an annual interest rate of up to 391%. Supporters say that the bills, if signed into law, would protect people from getting […]
The California Attorney General brought claims against for-profit online college Ashford University and its parent company for violating the state’s unfair competition and false advertising laws by making false and misleading statements to prospective students. The trial court agreed with the AG, and imposed over $22 miillion in civil penalties. Yesterday, an intermediate appellate court […]