Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Close Look at the Recent Study of the Effects of Illinois' 36% “All-In” Interest Rate Cap on Small-Dollar Credit Availability, with Special Guest Tom Miller
As we have reported in prior blogs, the Government of Canada is moving forward with plans to lower the criminal interest rate to an annual percentage rate (APR) of 35 percent (the current criminal interest rate, being an...more
On January 29, a Missouri-based bank and its Kansas-based fintech loan servicer filed a joint motion to dismiss a purported class action filed against them alleging violations of the Georgia Installment Loan Act (GILA) and...more
Every day, attorneys act as advisors to parties negotiating and drafting contracts. Among those terms often left to the lawyers are choice-of-law provisions. Which state’s law governs a dispute, in theory, should not...more
As discussed here, in April 2023, Colorado introduced HB 1229 that proposed to limit certain charges on consumer loans and simultaneously opt Colorado out of sections 521-523 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and...more
One of the beauties of the national banking system is that it allows state-chartered banks to offer uniform credit products across the 50 states without having to worry about state interest rate caps. This concept - rate...more
On March 27, Colorado legislators introduced a bill (H.B. 1229) to opt out of federal banking laws that permit federally insured state chartered banks and credit unions to charge Colorado residents the “interest” permitted...more
Using data for the last quarter of 2020 and first three quarters of 2021, the study examined the effects of the 36% rate cap imposed by the Illinois Predatory Loan Prevention Act which became effective in March 2021. The...more
Over the past few years, numerous states have imposed interest rate caps on consumer credit. In recent blog posts, we discussed the efforts of both Michigan and New Mexico to impose a 36% annual interest rate cap. Last...more
A California state court has overruled the demurrer filed by Opportunity Financial, LLC (OppFi) to the cross-complaint filed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in which OppFi asked the...more
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has filed its opposition to Opportunity Financial, LLC’s (OppFi) Demurrer to the DFPI’s cross-complaint. In the Demurrer, OppFi asks the California...more
When the interest rate on a mortgage financing is not fixed, the amount that a borrower may be required to pay may fluctuate depending on changes in the underlying index to which the “margin” or “spread” is tied. While a...more
On April 8, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) filed a cross-complaint against a Chicago-based FinTech company alleging that as the “true lender” of consumer installment loans, it is...more
Last week, Opportunity Financial, LLC filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation's alleged threat to take enforcement action for violating AB 539, the so-called Fair Access to Credit Act. ...more
On March 7, a Chicago-based FinTech company filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and...more
Beginning next year, New Mexico will join a handful of other states (including, among others, California, Illinois, and Colorado) setting stringent interest rate caps on consumer loans. House Bill 132, which Gov. Michelle...more
For at least the past 20 years, Maine has capped interest rates for most closed-end unsecured loans at 30% for loans of $2,000 or less, and at 18% on loans of $4,000 or more. See, e.g., 9-A M.R.S.A. Sec. 2-401....more
Last week, Illinois enacted the “Predatory Loan Prevention Act” (SB 1792), which would place a 36% rate cap on nearly all non-bank consumer loans. This act will essentially outlaw small-dollar loans in Illinois and may make...more
As forewarned in our January 15, 2021 posting, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed into law SB 1792, which takes effect immediately. SB 1792, also known, as relevant here, as the Predatory Loan Prevention Act,...more
The Illinois legislature has passed a new law setting an interest rate cap of 36% on most consumer loans. What Happened - Under the new bill, “a lender shall not contract for or receive charges exceeding a 36% annual...more
On January 13, 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Predatory Loan Prevention Act, which imposes a 36% “all in” APR cap on all consumer loans, including closed-end and open-end installment loans, payday loans, and...more
Three weeks after California, Illinois and New York sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to enjoin its final rule purporting to override the Second Circuit’s Madden decision as to national banks and...more
Financial Institutions M&A sector trends: Consumer finance — H1 2020 and outlook for H2 2020. A time of temperance as COVID-19 covenant breach forbearance, payment holiday and repossession deferral relief measures take their...more
The State of California is home to almost 40 million consumers and the world’s fifth largest economy. It represents a key exposure to most financial services companies’ US footprint. In recent years nonbank financial services...more
On January 31, 2020, by a vote of 65 to 33, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill that would establish a 36% rate cap on certain consumer loans. Since Democrats also hold a majority in the Virginia Senate, the Senate...more
The California Supreme Court recently handed Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. a decisive victory in a putative class action challenging the insurer’s assessment of compound interest on policy loans, holding that...more