Category: Arkansas

  • Payday loans wiped out in Arkansas — is this a trend?

    “Payday loans wiped out in Arkansas — is this a trend?” is the title of a Mitch Lipka article at WalletPop.com.

    The article, itself, does not have too much meat. This is a compelling question.

  • The last Arkansas payday lender closes

    Arkansas payday lenders operated under a check cashing law since 1999. Last year, the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned it’s original ruling putting 275 lenders more of less out of business. A few are still around offering check cashing and phone cards.

    In this AP article in Forbes, the last of the Arkansas lenders has closed.

    Could the lenders have worked w/ the legislature? It’s all academic now.

    If you’re curious about the last year in Arkansas, PDL Industry was following the store. Here is the archive.

  • Arkasas still trying to keep payday lenders out

    Payday lenders were hoping that a Supreme Court ruling in Arkansas would allow them to operate under a check cashing law from 1999. Well, the Supreme Court didn’t see things that way. They voted 6-0 against.

    “Because that fee is in reality an amount owed to the lender in return for the use of borrowed money, we must conclude that the fees authorized clearly constitute interest,” Justice Paul Danielson wrote.

    You can see the full story here.

  • Advance America closes in Arkasas

    Advance America and the Attorney General of Arkansas agreed to disagree and the compan will move out of Arkansas by October 31st.

    Arkansas makes up less than 1% of Advance America’s revenues, so they decided it was not worth the fight. You can read the full article here.

    The Arkansas Supreme Court next month will hear arguments in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 1999 Check Cashers Act, a law that advocates say payday lenders have tried to use as a shield in charging triple-digit interest rates. Arkansas’ constitution sets the state’s usury limit at 17 percent. If this lawsuit passes, lenders will most likely be allowed to move back into Arkansas.

  • Arkansas Lenders Holding Strong

    101 payday lenders in Arkansas are gone since the beginning of ’08. Of the 237 operators 136 are still offering loans. 55 (I counted 54) of the lenders are operating “in defiance” of the attorney general using various methods. The other 81 lenders are operating outside of state regulation and will face “potential” scrutiny, whatever that means:

    Here’s a breakdown of what payday lenders are doing:

    • 40 lenders are selling money orders and charging a 10% fee under a different law.
    • 8 are CSOs (Credit Service Organizations).
    • 6 are operating under a South Dakota lending license.
    • 81 are allegedly noncompliant of which 55 lenders send borrowers over the border into Texas to complete the transaction.

    The remaining 26 lenders are a mystery to me.

    It’s very interesting to see which model will win out, if any; AND which model gets attacked next.

  • 14-Store Chain fined $1.3 Million

    The Arkansas regulatory body of payday lenders fined a 14 store chain owned by Dennis Bailey of fordyce more than $1.3 million.

    Matson was operating as a Missouri lender in Arkansas. Missouri law does not allow Missouri payday lenders to operate outside that state.

    It is still unknown if the 14 store operation will close it’s doors. Attempts have been made to contact the stores with mixed answers. Petitions have been filed by the owner, but no hearing dates have been set.

  • Arkansas – 101 Payday Lenders Closed

    The Attorney General, Dustin McDaniel, is playing hard ball with payday lenders in Arkansas. Arkansas payday lenders were operating under the Arkansas Checkcashers Act, which passed in 1999. This act allowed a payday lender to cash a check and hold it for for a period of time, typically 14 days.

    It is alleged that 101 out of 156 payday lenders have closed since March 18th.

    This action by the Attorney General was spurred by a Supreme Court Ruling that companies are liable for paying bonds to partly cover judgments against payday lenders. The bonds are currently set at $50,000. The Attorney General is trying to force the hand of the bond companies, making it too risky to post a bond.

    Critics are accusing the Attorney General and his office of “defending the constitutionality of the Arkansas Check-cashers Act before the Arkansas Supreme Court.”

    The Arkansas Supreme Court must still rule on the Arkansas Check-cashing Act in the summer of 2008.