Payday Loan Industry Watch (PLIWatch.org) News

• Industry preys on Alabamians
  Montgomery, Alabama - Starting later this year, payday lenders who prey on the working poor in Alabama, charging unconscionable interest rates of 450 percent or more, won't be able to do so for those Alabamians who serve in the military.
• Payday lenders hope to return in Georgia
  Atlanta, Georgia - When the Georgia General Assembly opened for business in January, representatives of the payday lending industry walked in the Capitol's door, eager for another battle. . . . the return to Georgia was a bold move.
• Payday lenders, state reach deal on curbing fees
  Phoenix, Arizona - The state's payday lenders have agreed to sharp new curbs on their practices and fees in exchange for ensuring they are not forced out of business in three years.
• Boost or burden? Proposed law to control payday lending
  Concord, New Hampshire - Negative perceptions about payday loans really aggravate Megan Tracy, a 42-year-old Concord woman who lives on a month in Social Security and disability benefits.
• House, Senate lawmakers agree on payday loan restrictions
  Santa Fe, New Mexico - A compromise bill to impose new regulations on the payday loan industry passed the Senate in a 37-5 vote Thursday and will now go to Gov. Bill Richardson, whose office helped broker the deal.
• Payday loan regulation bill passes Senate
  Santa Fe, New Mexico - A compromise bill regulating payday lenders has cleared the Legislature and is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Bill Richardson so it can become law.
• Payday lenders to reform policies
  San Francisco, California - The reforms aimed at African-American and Latino borrowers seeks to educate customers about the use of payday loans, voluntarily limits advertising and offers a once-a-year break to borrowers who don't pay back loans quickly.
• Payday loan companies agree to cease lawful debt collection in West Virginia
  Charleston, West Virginia - West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw announced a settlement agreement with four affiliates of the nation's largest payday lender, Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc. ('Advance America') of Spartansburg, South Carolina. The companies agreed to cease engaging in certain debt collection practices that concerned McGraw's office.
• 2006 in review: EZCORP
  Austin, Texas - Ah, the value of hindsight. Had we all known in January what we know today, we could have tripled our money in pawnshop operator and payday lender EZCORP, which started the year at around a share and trades today at more than .
• 2006 in review: Cash America
  Fort Worth, Texas - It was a year for pawnshops and payday lenders to branch out beyond their normal boundaries as their traditional lines of business came under legal and regulatory assault.
• Widen payday loan limits
  Austin, Texas - Last September, Congress passed a law that limits the rate of interest that can be charged on a loan to members of the U.S. military and their families to 36 percent.
• Jones defends cash advance businesses
  Cleveland, Tennessee - Cleveland, Tn.'s Allan Jones, chairman and CEO of Check Into Cash, Inc., is taking issue with the recent attack on the industry by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).
• Illinois' payday loan problem is far from over
  Tinley Park, Illinois - It seems as though some things never change when it comes to payday lending in Illinois. As soon as Illinois enacted law that makes payday loans a more affordable solution for people who need them, the payday loan industry got greedy.
• Critics want to curb payday loans
  Olympia, Washington - Aaron Medres is on a mission. Four years years ago, the Chattaroy truck driver took out a $500 payday loan to cover some unexpected repairs to his car. Two weeks later, to pay back the $500 and the $75 fee, he took out another loan from a different lender. And then another.
• Who would span the payday lending gap?
  Richmond, Virginia - Five years ago, tellers at State Employees' Credit Union in North Carolina noticed a different group of people coming in to cash checks: payday lenders with checks written by members of the Raleigh-based credit union.
• Montana officials push for more 'payday' loan regulation: industry protests
  Great Falls, Montana - Some of Montana's poorest consumers fall victim to lending services that charge exorbitant interest rates for payday or title loans and get trapped in debt, says Attorney General Mike McGrath.
• Regulate, don't ban, state's payday lenders
  Concord, New Hampshire - Payday lenders are storefront shops that give customers small, no-collateral loans for a fee and a promise to pay the money back in a week or two. They used to be a sign of a big city. High-interest lenders require a steady supply of people who live paycheck to paycheck.
• Payday Mayday: The law should treat adults as adults
  Seattle, Washington - Beginning Oct. 1, 2007, no U.S. lender may charge more than 36-percent interest to a military person on active duty, or his family: a measure Congress aimed principally at protecting soldiers from payday loans.
• Lawmakers urge payday loan alternatives
  Washington, D.C. - Two months after Congress approved a cap on loan interest rates for service members, lawmakers are urging financial institutions to look for ways to make affordable small loans available to all consumers, not just the military community.
• Payday loan profits may be limited
  Vancouver, Washington - Washington state Rep. Sherry Appleton expects a different outcome this legislative session when she introduces two bills that could drastically curtail profits for payday lenders.
• Payday loan measure killed in committee
  Richmond, Virginia - A House committee yesterday killed a bill that would have banned payday lending in Virginia. But the bill's sponsor says he's going to reintroduce it for the 2007 legislative session that starts next month, where it will compete with other bills that are expected to add regulations to the industry but not ban it altogether.
• FiSCA press release blasts CRL study critical of payday loan industry
  Hackensack, New Jersey - The Financial Service Centers of America (FiSCA) today strongly criticized a recent report, titled 'Financial Quicksand,' issued by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) which attacked the payday loan industry.
• Avoid the loan sharks
  Alexandria, Virginia - You may have seen commercials on television offering unsecured loans to anyone needing money. These ads tend to focus on two things: how much money you can get, and how quickly you can get it. Lost in the fine print is the important information, including the interest rate and repayment schedule for the loan.
• 'Marketplace' on payday loans: 'Trapped in Financial Quicksand'
  Chicago, Illinois - American Public Media's news program 'Marketplace' (heard nationally on NPR) tonight ran a segment highlighting the Center for Responsible Lending's new report about payday loans titled 'Financial Quicksand.'
• Payday loans have pitfalls
  Mason City, Iowa - Five days until payday can be a long time when the rent is due and you don't have enough money to pay it. For some families, payday loan businesses come to the rescue. The check doesn't bounce and the landlord's late rent fee is avoided.
• Report blasts payday lenders
  Sterling, Illinois - A new report is warning money-strapped Christmas shoppers not to be tempted by offers for fast cash this holiday season, or they could end up with a very unhappy New Year.