Keep pressure on payday lenders

Feeling the pressure of proposed legislation to do more to regulate payday lenders, industry representatives have taken to the airwaves with commercials that are basically "buyer beware" messages. The Legislature has refused to impose interest-rate limits, even though the "average" interest rates charged by these establishments is 521 percent annually. Some charge as much as 900 percent a year.

Absent a clear mandate from state lawmakers, the industry says it will police itself. But the issue is not dead. Some city councils are considering what they can do to curb the proliferation of these businesses, which outnumber all the 7-Eleven, McDonald's, Burger King and Subway stores in Salt Lake County combined. Earlier this week, the Sandy City Council approved an ordinance that limits the number of payday loan businesses to one per 10,000 residents. The ordinance, which passed on a 4-3 vote, also requires that these businesses must be located at least one mile from one another. The Salt Lake City Planning Commission also is studying the issue.

The Sandy City Council is to be commended for its attempts to curb payday lending, which can imperil unsuspecting people who are already in financial straits. Limiting the numbers of these businesses in a given municipality may help deter borrowers, or at least curb the convenience appeal many payday lenders use in their marketing.

No matter how cities craft ordinances to limit these businesses, it will be impossible for elected officials to save borrowers from themselves. These businesses serve people who have no access to traditional forms of credit. They may turn to these lenders as their last resort.

But do these lenders have to charge such large interest rates? In Utah, payday loan stores collect at least $69 million in excess, "predatory" fees each year, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Despite assuming considerable risk in offering these loans, it would appear that these businesses make more than handsome profits.

The Legislature isn't about to impose interest caps. Thus, this issue is in the hands of city and county governments. We hope they will follow Sandy city's lead in limiting the numbers of these establishments, which could conceivably entice consumers to consider other options or at least to become better educated about the long-term consequences of quick loans.