When federal regulators last week took their first ever step to protect consumers who use payday lenders, many experts described the move as a fatal blow to the industry. The payday trade association said “thousands of lenders” would be forced to “shutter their doors.”
But larger payday lenders have already concluded in recent days they will be able to withstand the regulatory onslaught — and keep alive the most controversial loan in the United States: one with an annualized interest rate of 390 percent or more.
The Washington Post has the story.
