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Building
and Protecting Wealth in Communities
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NEWS
RELEASE from
North Carolina
Fair
Housing
Center (NC FHC)
For
Immediate Release
April
25, 2005
Contact:
Stella Adams, (919) 667-0888 x30
Just Say No to
the Payday Debt Trap
N.C.
Citizens Opposed to Payday Lending Bill
DURHAM
,
NC
– The North Carolina Fair Housing Center (NC FHC) today delivered 500
letters to the N.C. Senate Commerce Committee from
North Carolina
citizens opposed to Senate Bill 947 (Regulate Deferred Deposits).
The total number of letters delivered included letters signed by citizens
from every Senator’s district who serves on the Commerce Committee.
For the past two weeks, the
North Carolina
Fair
Housing
Center
and its partners have been gathering signatures from citizens concerned about
the harmful effects of payday lending in our state.
SB
947 would overturn restrictions on payday lending in
North Carolina
that date from 2001. The bill is
scheduled to be debated by the Commerce Committee at 11 am tomorrow, Tuesday,
April 26.
"Public
reaction to news of this bill’s existence has been one of amazement,"
said Stella Adams, NC FHC Executive Director.
"Citizens we have spoken with express a strong desire to keep
current N.C. payday lending laws in place. They
believe this bill is a step in the wrong direction for building and protecting
wealth in
North Carolina's communities."
Since
2001, the payday chains have been willing to take the risk of ignoring N.C. law
by operating under the "rent-a-bank" model. This year, though, their
rent-a-bank model is at risk. The N.C. Commissioner of Banks is holding a
contested hearing questioning the legality of these loans and class action
lawsuits underway could rule that their N.C. payday loans are illegal. In
addition, the FDIC, the only federal regulator still allowing the rent-a-bank
model, has just implemented much tighter guidelines to crack down on payday
lending’s debt trap. These new
guidelines are tougher than the provisions within SB 947.
"The payday industry is
desperate for a bailout," said Adams. "They need a weak law like
SB 947 in
North Carolina, reauthorizing payday loans, to take them off the hook for these
investigations, lawsuits and new FDIC regulations.
How can the General Assembly authorize legislation that would subject our
consumers to weaker regulation than if we passed no bill at all?"
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About
the
North Carolina
Fair
Housing
Center
The
N.C.
Fair
Housing
Center
supports and encourages equal opportunities in housing and lending in our
state, and community involvement in advocating for fairness on these issues.
To achieve these goals NC FHC investigates alleged violations of fair housing
statutes; provides assistance to individuals pursuing legal rights and issues;
promotes community involvement in fair housing issues and performs research and
policy development in the area of fair housing.