What is Predatory Lending

Predatory lending is a vague term. I think this is a very good assessment and opinion by J. R. Clark Ph.D., University of Tennessee Chattanooga. He thinks:

“Predatory loans, on the other hand, are loans obtained by the lender through deception or fraud, and do not enhance the welfare of borrowers. It is a disservice to the public to confuse loans which are truly predatory with those that are simply expensive.”

He further writes that capping interest rates or that usury ceilings hurt low-income families most and that it just locks out the bottom of the credit pool or the poorest and worst off people. Here is the full article.

I don’t think anyone expects people to “like” payday lending, but it’s an option. If there was a better option out there, people would be using it.