Voters in Arizona and Ohio rejected an attempt by the payday loan industry to use the ballot to repeal legislative limits on the amount of interest they can charge, reports the Center for Responsible Lending.
The industry spent over $30 million in its attempt to establish predatory interest rates that rose up to 391 percent, but a grass-roots effort funded with less than $475,000 manage to defeat the measure.
Payday lenders lost in Ohio (which had a 28% cap) by a 2 to 1 margin and in Arizona (which had a 36% cap) by a 3 to 2 margin. The article reports:
Congress passed a 36 percent cap protecting military from this practice, and 15 states plus the District of Columbia also have chosen to control predatory lending by enforcing interest rates in that range.
The failure of the payday industry to circumvent these state lawmakers shows citizens favor a crack-down on irresponsible lending practices. It also shows citizens are catching on to the deceptive marketing practices of payday lenders. These ballot victories send a message to policymakers everywhere: The 36 percent interest-rate cap that’s good for citizens in 15-plus states and for military families nationwide makes sense for everyone everywhere.
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