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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“Nel contratto di mutuo non è giuridicamente configurabile un tasso di interesse negativo che incida sul capitale mutuato. Conseguentemente, quando il tasso d’interesse sia stato pattuito in misura variabile, esso non può...more
On Wednesday, February 5, the House Financial Services Committee will hold the first part of a two-part hearing on “rent-a-bank” structures. The hearing is titled “Rent-A-Bank Schemes and New Debt Traps: Assessing Efforts to...more
There were significant developments in 2019 as courts continued to issue important decisions in this space and significant legislation impacting the residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) market came into effect. A...more
New federal legislation introduced in the House and Senate would place a 36% annual percentage rate cap on nearly all consumer loans, potentially killing the small dollar consumer lending industry. Last month, Congressmen...more
According to an NPR report published last week, a group of lawmakers consisting of three Democratic Senators, one Democratic House member, and one Republican House member is expected to introduce House and Senate versions of...more
Last week, California Governor Newsom signed into law AB 539, which makes significant amendments to the California Financing Law (CFL), and SB 616, which creates a new exemption from levy for deposit account funds....more
On the last day of California’s 2019 legislative session, by a vote of 61 to 8, the California State Assembly overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 539, the Fair Access to Credit Act. Governor Newsom has until October 13th to...more
In its recently published Summer 2019 Newsletter, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (“DFI”) reported that it had interpreted the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) broadly to apply the SCRA’s 6%...more
On Tuesday, the FDIC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that outlines anticipated revisions to its regulations regarding interest rate restrictions that apply to less than well capitalized insured depository...more
AB 539 was cleared by the California Senate’s Banking Committee on June 26. The bill would change several aspects of the California Financing Law (CFL), including by setting new interest rate caps, imposing new rules...more
Last week, by a vote of 60 to 4 (with 16 not voting), the California Assembly cleared AB 539, which would change several aspects of the California Financing Law (CFL), including by setting new interest rate caps, imposing new...more
Senator Bernie Sanders recently announced that he will be introducing a bill, the “Loan Shark Prevention Act,” that would amend the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1606) (TILA) to establish a “national consumer credit usury...more
Last week, Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., reintroduced a bill, the “Protecting Consumers From Unreasonable Credit Rates Act of 2019,” that would create a national interest-rate cap of 36% on consumer loans. ...more
In February 2019, the CFPB released the highly anticipated revamp of its Payday Rule, reinforcing its more lenient attitude towards payday lenders. In light of the Bureau’s softer touch, as well as similar developments at the...more
As discussed in an earlier post, on November 6, 2018, Colorado’s voters passed Proposition 111, seeking to limit interest rates and fees charged on payday loans in Colorado to an annualized percentage rate of thirty-six...more