Lenders having a payday

Lenders having a payday

Middletown Journal: Ohioans thought they had dealt with the predatory payday lending industry last year, but a report released last week by a Cleveland research group indicates that the quick-cash stores have found ways to skirt the states tougher law.

State lawmakers passed needed legislation in 2008 to limit the payday-lending companies to an annual rate of 28 percent on the small loans they generally make. Before the crackdown legislation, some lenders had been charging what equated to an APR of 391 percent.

Now comes a report from the research group Policy Matters Ohio that indicates the companies are flouting the law. According to Policy Matters Ohio’s survey of 69 payday-lending stores, some lenders continue to make loans at triple-digit interest rates, some for 14 days or less.

Fortunately, state lawmakers have introduced and are debating new legislation to close the loopholes and to try — again — to limit the lenders to the intended 28 percent interest rate cap.