- Bill aims to help borrowers break cycle, By Cathy McKitrick, January 8, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune: “At his own insurance agency, Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, got a first-hand look at the tactics some payday lenders use to attempt to collect debts at a borrower’s workplace. ‘It got my attention,’ Dunnigan said of the multiple calls to one of his employees — even after Dunnigan had asked them to stop. The lawmaker crafted HB15 to restrict that practice and also to extend a hand to folks who are drowning in debt. His bill, backed by the Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee, would limit loan rollovers to 10 weeks instead of 12. It also would allow borrowers to request extended payment plans to get a handle on their debt. Supporters of the effort, including an industry association, praise HB15 as what could be a significant improvement over current law. But critics denounce it as window dressing…”
- Poor fall victim to loan sharks over Christmas spending, January 15, 2010, BBC News: “Some of the UK’s poorest people are starting the new year in severe debt after borrowing from loan sharks to pay for Christmas, a report has said. The Financial Inclusion Centre said 100,000 families had borrowed a total of £29m from illegal moneylenders. The think tank said on average it would take a year to pay the money back as lenders recouped three times the value, with some interest rates up to 1,500%. The average amount borrowed was £288, but the average repayment was £820…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty