Payday lender ‘troubled’ by council’s actions

Opinion

December 12, 2010

Anonymous Laurel Leader-Call The Laurel Leader-Call Sun Dec 12, 2010, 11:37 AM CST

LAUREL — To the editor:

I was troubled to read in the Leader-Call that the city of Laurel wants the state of Mississippi to effectively shutdown the payday advance industry. All of the city’s points of contention with short-term credit lenders are, unfortunately, based on misinformation.

The city must understand that a short-term payday advance can not be fairly judged using an annual percentage rate. Payday advances carry one-time fees that are simple and transparent. Loan renewals and roll-overs are against the law in Mississippi, making it impossible to reach the interest rates quoted by our critics.

Forcing payday lenders to use the same annual rate calculation as other long-term financial products like home mortgages and automobile loans will make it impossible for short-term lenders to operate. This would result in the loss of jobs for hard-working Mississippians and will take away a source of credit for the state’s consumers.

The city based its action on a special report recently published by The Clarion-Ledger newspaper. That newspaper report included several mischaracterizations of the payday advance industry. It is certainly inaccurate to infer that short-term payday loans caused anyone to foreclose on their home.

The city is correct when it states in its resolution that short-term credit is important to the state. I am confident that if the city of Laurel takes a closer look they will find that payday advance in Mississippi is currently well-regulated and that present state law adequately shields consumers from predatory abuses.

— Ryan Harris

Check Into Cash, Inc.

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