Fast growth of payday stores in Utah cools

For example, the number of payday loan stores grew from 30 to 38 in Salt Lake City, which is considering a ban but has not enacted it. The numbers in unincorporated Salt Lake County grew to 16 now from nine last year — before the county enacted a moratorium and then later permanent restrictions on the numbers it would allow.

"That is a sign that a few companies are trying to open outlets wherever they can before the door closes," said Linda Hilton, a payday loan critic and director of the Coalition for Religious Communities.

Her group and others have fought city by city for restrictions on the industry after failing to convince the Legislature to limit it.

"Payday loans are still the worst financial choice that any consumer can make," she said because (according to a 2005 Deseret News series) such lenders charge an average 521 percent annual interest on their loans, or about $20 per $100 borrowed in a two-week loan. Mafia loan sharks in the 1960s charged just 250 percent.

Critics such as Hilton contend that payday lenders lure the unwary into loans they cannot repay on time, and borrowers often spiral into deeper debt as they take out more payday loans to pay off older loans.

However, the industry says such loans are often a less expensive alternative for the poor than such things as bouncing checks or paying late fees on rent or utilities. It also says most of its customers can afford the loans. Gibson said the average payday loan borrower has a household income of $42,000.

Still, the Deseret News found earlier this year that lawsuits by payday lenders for default on their loans are swamping Utah courts. They accounted for 58 percent of all small claims court cases filed in Utah last year. In Provo, 81 percent of all small claims cases were filed by payday lenders.

New data show that the cities with the highest numbers of payday lenders are: Salt Lake City, 38; Ogden, 24; Orem, 23; Layton, 20; and St. George, 18. A total of 66 cities plus unincorporated Salt Lake County have at least one payday loan store.

Also, data show that 195 of the 399 payday loan stores in the state also offer car "title loans." Those loans usually charge about 300 percent annual interest for a 30-day loan secured by a car title. If borrowers default, they lose their cars. The state has 231 total "title lenders," counting those that offer only such loans and not also payday loans.

The payday lenders with the most locations registered with the state are: Check City, 27; Check 'N Go, 20; QC Finance and EZMoney, 19 each; and 1st Choice Money Center, 16.

---

E-mail: lee@desnews.com