From Deseret News archives:
Tighter restrictions are sought on Utah's payday lenders
Advocates say Mayne's bill isn't tough enough
Fox, director of consumer protection for the national Consumer Federation of America, has no patience for the payday lending industry's argument that its interest rates aren't usury, averaging the equivalent of 500 percent a year.
Fox was on Utah's Capitol Hill Thursday hoping to convince legislators that payday lending small consumer loans that typically come due in two weeks at high interest rates should be more tightly regulated. Utah's current regulations for the industry, she argued, allow practices that lead to a "debt trap" when borrowers can't pay off the debt on time, have to renew the loan so they can pay the interest due, and sometimes end up paying more in interest than the loan was originally worth.
The Legislature will be considering a bill, sponsored by Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, that will add restrictions to Utah's payday lending law. Among other things, SB76 clarifies that a borrower has until 5 p.m. the day after a loan has been taken out to rescind without penalty and establishes a penalty of up to $1,000 for a lender's failure to comply with the current law.
Hilton added that the Coalition of Religious Communities does not support another feature of the bill that permits loans to be rolled over for more than 12 weeks.
Mayne, they charged during a lunchtime interview, crafted his bill without talking to them or other consumer advocates. Later, as Fox lobbied the Senate Democratic Caucus, Mayne noted that he welcomed anyone who wants to put forth a different bill "instead of sitting on the sidelines and carping. No one is willing to take this industry and the side industries on," he said, adding that banks and credit unions don't want caps on interest rates.
He added that he has been told that Internet payday loan companies will be hard to regulate, but Fox disagreed. "Any Internet lender doing business in Utah should be subject to Utah laws, if Utah is enforcing the law."
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