Payday Loans Measure Introduced in Utah

Bill calls for interest rate cap

There's a buzz going around Utah about the payday loans industry.

Following the introduction of a bill involving payday loans in Utah, an editorial in the Deseret News discusses the topic. The bill seeks to put a 100 percent annual interest rate cap on payday loans. Here are some snippets from the commentary piece.

Not big fans

The editorial starts off by letting readers know exactly where the newspaper’s editorial board stands: “Regular readers of these pages know we’re no fans of the payday lending industry.” Whew. Glad we got that out of the way.

As you can imagine, the editorial goes on to say “Bill good. Payday loans bad.” OK, that is not a direct quotation.

Bill details

Regarding the  100 percent interest rate cap on payday loans, Deseret News says:

The industry is crying foul, which is hardly surprising considering the number of these lenders along the Wasatch Front.

I wonder if it ever occurred to the writer that there are so many lenders because people, you know, need them.

Check your facts

The editorial also says that payday lenders are saying the 100 percent interest rate will run them out of business. Deseret news says:

This is a little difficult to rationalize when some states have placed caps at 36 percent or less. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Payday Loans Measure Introduced in Utah"