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If the banks do not want to divest from these fringe consumer finance companies, the OCC should make them do so. Their reputations are at risk.
December 16 -
The online lender Western Sky and the online loan servicer CashCall agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties and stop collecting interest on outstanding loans to New York borrowers in a proposed settlement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
January 24 -
New York State's crackdown on online lenders has ensnared a Chicago company that makes loans backed by a borrower's car.
December 16 -
Two payday lenders have filed suit against the city of Austin, Texas, claiming that new regulations restricting where payday lenders can operate and how much they can lend to one borrower violate state laws.
June 18
Ten auto repossession companies will stop claiming vehicles on behalf of title-loan companies under agreements with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
The agreements aim to thwart lenders that are making auto title loansa type of high-interest credit backed by borrowers' vehiclesthat violate New York state law, according to a
New York law prohibits unlicensed lenders from charging interest rates above 16%, while car title loans carry an average 300% annual percentage rate, according to a
Some lenders have attempted to circumvent New York law by issuing auto title loans online, then asking local repossession companies to claim vehicles when borrowers default.
"I applaud these companies for agreeing to stop obeying orders from predatory title-loan companies that take advantage of unsuspecting New Yorkers," Schneiderman said in the release. "Any other business that repossesses the vehicles of New Yorkers based on illegal title loans should recognize that my office will not tolerate this kind of behavior."
Six of the companies that entered into agreements with the attorney general are based in New York: Advanced Recovery of New York in Rochester; ALSCO in Buffalo; Buffalo Auto Recovery Service in Buffalo; Empire Auto Recovery in Plainview; Priority Recovery in New Windsor; and Tri-City Auto Recovery in Burnt Hills.
Four are based out of state: Del Mar Recovery Solutions in Carlsbad, Calif.; Minnesota Repossessors in Maple Grove, Minn.; Victory Recovery Services in Buford, Ga.; and Loss Prevention Services in Grandville, Mich. The companies that operate in markets outside of New York state will stop repossessing vehicles for title-loan lenders in those states as well, according to a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
The move follows New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky's widely publicized efforts to squelch payday lending in the state. Lawsky, who serves as the head of New York's Department of Financial Services,
Rumors have circulated in recent months of an escalating rivalry between Schneiderman and Lawsky. The New York Times
