Loans With Outstanding Payday Loans - Ark: Few Payday Lenders Closing - CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Tuesday that most of the payday lending companies operating in Arkansas have said they will close or stop issuing high-interest loans in response to his threat last month to sue them if they continued to do business in the state. The 59 companies account for almost all of the 156 payday lending locations that he targeted with the March 18 letter, informing the companies they were violating the state constitution by charging more than 17 percent interest, McDaniel said. Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending, a coalition opposed to the payday lending industry, said last week that Advance America had signs displayed at some locations announcing that the firm would not make any new loans but loans to existing customers could be renewed at 0 percent interest. On March 18, McDaniel sent the letters to the payday lending firms asking them to shut down immediately and forgive customers’ debts or face the likelihood of lawsuits. McDaniel based his actions on two recent state Supreme Court rulings that he said make it clear that the high interest rates charged by payday lenders violate the state constitution and the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Learn more
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