Abusive Lending and Asset Development

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Payday Lending
Payday lending was authorized in Oklahoma under the "Deferred Deposit Lending Act" that took effect on September 1, 2003. Since then, hundreds of locations have sprung up making high-cost, short-term loans.
  • SB 807 Payday Loan Reform Bill: CAP Factsheet (February 2007)     [NEW]
  • Center for Responsible Lending: Payday Lending "Debt Trap" Costs Americans $4.2 billion Annually (Dec. 2003)
  • Consumer Federation of America Launches Payday Loan Information website     [NEW]
  • Payday Loan Database Report (Jan. '06)     [NEW]
  • Issue Brief: Military Payday Lending: Payday Loans Threaten Troop Morale (Feb. '06)
  • Issue Brief: Oklahoma Data Shows Chronic Borrowing With Payday Loans (Nov. '05)
  • Center for Responsible Lending: Payday Lenders Target the Military: Evidence Lies in Industries Own Data (Sept. '05)
  • Military Payday Lending in Oklahoma
  • Payday Issue Brief: Fall 2004
  • CAP's Consumer Guide to Payday Lending
  • CAP's Consumer Guide to Payday Lending (Spanish)
  • Federal Trade Commission: Payday Loans = Costly Cash
  • BetterBudgeting.com: The High Cost of Fast Cash
  • Consumer Federation of America: Internet-Based Payday Lending Pose High Risks
  • NCLC/CFA: In Harm's Way - At Home: Consumer Scams and the Direct Targeting of America's Military and Veterans
  • Center for Responsible Lending: Payday Lending Basics
  • National Consumer Law Center: Payday Loans - A Form of Loansharking

    Payday Lending in the News

  • Payday Lending Takes Advantage of the Poor (Muskogee Phoenix, Dec. 7, 2005)
  • Payday Loan Industry Shows to be a Debt Trap (The Journal Record, Dec. 5, 2005)
  • Payback Time: High Interest Rates and Short Terms Have a Way of Adding Up. And Then it's Payback Time (Tulsa World, Nov. 28, 2005)
  • Policies Against Lenders Varied (Tulsa World, Nov. 28, 2005)
  • Small Loans, Big Business(Tulsa World, Nov. 27, 2005)
  • Holiday Season Big for Small Loan Companies(Tulsa World, Nov. 27, 2005)
  • Daily Oklahoman (December 19,2004):Payday loan shops makes millions
  • Tulsa World (June 5, 2004): Switzer wants loan bill OK'd
  • Tulsa World (May 31, 2004):Payday for Lenders
  • Tulsa World (May 27, 2004):House advances payday-loan legislation
  • Daily Oklahoman Editorial (May 24, 2004): Loan Law Keeps Counselors Busy
  • Tulsa World (May 11, 2004):Loan Explosion
  • Tulsa World (May 7, 2004):Payday applicants lose hope
  • Daily Oklahoman (April 9, 2004): House approves payday loan restrictions bill
  • Tulsa World (March 29, 2004): Payday loan wait proposed
  • Daily Oklahoma (March 27, 2004): State bill focuses on "payday" loans
  • Daily Oklahoman (March 12, 2004): Senate OKs payday loan delay
  • Daily Oklahoman (Feb. 24, 2004): State bankrupticies double as personal debt soars (expert says payday loans likely to make problem worse)
  • Tulsa World Editorial (Feb. 11, 2004): Payday Loans - Nightmare Law Needs Fixing
  • Tulsa World Article (Feb. 10, 2004): Payday Loan Law's Repeal Sought
  • Tulsa World Op-Ed (Feb. 8, 2004): Payday Lending Not What it Seems
  • Tulsa World Article (Jan. 18, 2004): Payday loans only postpone problem
  • Tulsa World Editorial (Dec. 19, 2003): New Payday Loan Law Already a Mess
  • Tulsa World Article (Dec. 18, 2003): New Payday Loan Law Has Counselors Feeling Holiday Pinch
  • Daily Oklahoman Article (Nov. 17, 2003): Payday Loans Bring Big Business

    Predatory Mortgage Lending
    A growing number of Oklahomans have found themselves victims of certain predatory home mortgage lenders who use unscrupulous lending practices to strip homeowners of their equity and place them at risk of foreclosure. CAP has issued a report on predatory lending in Oklahoma titled Stealing the American Dream. Below you will also find additional links for more information on predatory lending including examples of what other state/local governments are doing to better protect their citizens.

  • Woodstock Institute There Goes the Neighborhood Report: June 2005
  • National Consumer Law Center Foreclosure Rescue Scams Report: June 2005
  • Predatory Lending Issue Brief: Fall 2004
  • ACORN: Separate and Unequal 2004 - Predatory Lending in America
  • GAO Report (Jan. 2004) - Federal and State Agencies Face Challenges in Combating Predatory Lending
  • CAP Summary: How New GAO Report on Predatory Lending Informs the Debate in Oklahoma
  • HB 2711 is Needed to Adequately Protect Oklahoma's Homeowners (2004)
  • Text of HB 1574, Oklahoma's Current Anti-Predatory Mortgage Lending Law
  • Testimony of Uriah King, Center for Responsible Lending: Interim Study on Predatory Mortgage Lending, Oklahoma House of Representatives (Nov. 6, 2003)
  • North Carolina's Anti-Predatory Lending Law Cuts Abuses
  • One Page Analysis of The Major Studies on North Carolina's Anti-Predatory Lending Law
  • Power Point Presentation on Exploitive Lending Practices (Predatory Mortgage Lending and Payday Lending)
  • Stealing the American Dream: Predatory Lending in Oklahoma - CAP Report, May 2003
  • Executive Summary of Stealing the American Dream
  • One Page Issue Briefs on Predatory Lending
  • HUD/U.S. Treasury Task Force Report on Predatory Lending (2000)
  • ACORN: Predatory Lending News
  • Oklahoma Homeowners Will Benefit from Household Settlement
  • Southern Exposure magazine expose on Citigroup's Exploitive Subprime Lending Operations
  • Bankrate.com: Warning SIgns of Predatory Lending

    Predatory Mortgage Lending In the News

  • Daily Oklahoman:Victim's story draws attention to predatory lending practices
  • Daily Oklahoman:Falling Prey
  • Fannie Mae Press Release on the Oklahoma Anti-Predatory Lending Initiative
  • Daily Oklahoman:Program to assist vicitms of Predatory Mortgages
  • Tulsa World: New State Anti-Predatory Mortgage Lending Law Gets a Second Glance
  • Oklahoma House of Representatives Press Release: Interim Study Examines Predatory Mortgage Lending

    Refund Anticipation Loans
    Refund anticipation loans, commonly known as RALs, are short-term loans originated by tax preparation and financial service companies based on anticipated income tax refunds. RALs are dangerous because they are very expensive and have an especially costly impact on low-income borrowers receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit. Link below to AARP's Tax-Aid website to find a location near you that offers free tax assistance to help taxpayers avoid RALs lenders and their costly services and loans. Also find information from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) on the high costs of RALs and other links for additional information.

  • NCLC/CFA 2005 RAL Report     [NEW]
  • NCLC/CFA 2005 RAL Press Release     [NEW]
  • NCLC: Consumer Guide to RALs (Brochure)
  • Refund Anticipation Loans Issue Brief: The High Cost of Quick Cash - Fall 2004
  • AARP's Tax-Aid Site Locator
  • CFA & NCLC (2004): All Drain, No Gain: RALs Continue to Sap Tax Dollars of Low-Income Americans
  • CFA: Don't Pay Triple Digit Interest to Borrow on Your Own Tax Refund
  • NCLC: Refund Anticipation Loan Resources
  • Bankrate.com: Refund Anticpation Loans Can Carry a High Price

    Financial Literacy and Education
    A number of government, non-profit and industry organizations have websites that provide extensive information aimed at promiting financial literacy and financial education.

  • Oklahoma Council on Financial Education
  • JumpStart Coalition for Financial Literacy
  • US Treasury: Office of Financial Education
  • Financial Literacy and Education Commision: Mymoney.gov
  • 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy Resource Center (AICPA)
  • Mortgage Bankers Association Home Loan Learning Center

    Debt and Credit
    Growing attention and concern is focusing on America's rising debt levels and the explosion of credit and borrowing. See these resources for information and policy proposals on this subject.

  • Generation Broke: The Growth of Debt Among Young Americans
  • Annie E. Casey: Access to Affordable and Acessible Credit
  • Faces of Debt: Students, People of Color, and Older Americans
  • "The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke" (from Amazon.com)
  • DEMOS: Debt and Assets Clearinghouse
  • Consumer Federation of America: Resources on Credit and Debt

    Assets and Wealth Development
    A great many families have little or nothing in the way of assets, savings and wealth. See the reports below for information on assets and savings and proposals for encouraging greater wealth development among low- and modertate-income Americans.

  • Retirement Security Project The Effect of Asset Tests on Saving     [NEW]
  • Retirement Security Project Protecting Low-Income Families' Savings     [NEW]

    Oklahoma Coalition of Consumer Advocates
    The Oklahoma Coaltion of Consumer Advocates (OCCA) is a newly formed non-profit organization whose mission is to promote fair and equitable lending practices and bring about economic justice for all Oklahomans. Membership in OCCA is open to consumer organizations, advocates, and concerned citizens who share a common goal of stopping abusive lending in Oklahoma. Link below to OCCA's website or download OCCA's membership form directly

  • Oklahoma Coalition of Consumer Advocates website
  • Membership Form
  • Tulsa World: OCCA Forming to Fight Lending Abuses
  • The Daily Oklahoman: OCCA Warns of the Dangers of Payday Lending

    Oklahoma Consumer Issue Updates
    CAP offers regular updates on news and developments on consumer protection issues in Oklahoma and nationally, focused on abusive lending practices (predatory mortgage lending, payday lending, Refund Anticipation loans, and others) and other issues related to financial services, wealth, and assets. Link below to an archive of consumer issue updates. Links to articles in older Oklahoma Consumer Issue Updates may no longer be active.

  • Update #33: December 7 '05     [NEW]
  • Update #32: November 10 '05

    Abusive Lending
    Below are additional links to national and state organizations and agencies that provide research and advocacy on abusive lending issues.

  • The Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit
  • Debt and Assets Clearing House
  • Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
  • Center for Responsible Lending
  • Consumer Federation of America
  • The Woodstock Institute
  • Consumers Union
  • US Housing and Urban Development (HUD)