Another Attempt to Put a Cap on Payday Loan Interest Rates
Lawmakers are passing a bill as a second attempt to control the industry of payday lending. During the previous year, lobbyists and politics had a big role in creating legislations for the purpose of regulating an industry that is said to take advantage of vulnerable residents.
The sponsored act of Rep. Gordon Hintz, D Oshkosh entitled Predatory Lending Consumer Protection Act blocks auto title loans and sets limits to the loan amount. Specifically, the maximum amount must be at 35% of the gross monthly income. However, this act did not put the same cap of 36% to interest rates.
Spending huge amounts, lobbying lawmakers and contributing to campaigns were all done by the payday lending industry to fight the bill.
At present, two Republicans namely Rep. Evan Wynn, R-Whitewater, and Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, are submitting a proposal to the legislature for a 36% limit to payday loan interest rates.
This new bill is also co-sponsored by Hintz. It was Wynn who sought information from Hintz and banking industries to work on the proposal. Wynn praised the work of Hintz and his colleagues in the previous session and blamed lobbyists for the failure of the interest rate cap proposal.
A Payday loan is a small amount, high interest loan with a short payment period. Typically, a payday loan is paid on the next paycheck of the borrower. The usual charge amounts to $20 for every $100 of loan. However, when the borrower fails to pay during the specified period, the debt is rolled over and the interest charges pile up.
The payday lending industry began in Wisconsin in 1995. Back then, interest rates were at 18 percent maximum. Eventually, 17 payday lenders emerged in the state. At present, there are about 550 of them.
According to Hintz, it is expected that the payday loan industry is preparing to prevent the bill on interest rate cap from becoming a law.
Related articles
- Payday Lending’s Final Days? Not by a Long Shot, Reports AboutPaydayLoan.com (prnewswire.com)
- Payday Loan Lenders Under Fire (nowpublic.com)
- Should interest rates be capped? (cleardebt.co.uk)