.biz - Consumer loan bill moves forward | newsobserver.com blogs

An industry-backed bill to revamp state regulations governing consumer finance companies was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee despite objections from consumer advocates.

Tuesday's passage of the bill, SB 489, sends it to the floor of the Senate for consideration. The committee approved the bill by a voice vote.

"It's a reasonable bill," said Erin Wagner, president of the Resident Lenders of North Carolina, an industry trade group. "We feel like we are keeping the consumer protections that are built into an installment loan in place."

Consumer finance companies such as OneMain Financial and Springleaf currently make loans of up to $10,000 to borrowers who may have bank accounts and credit cards but have limited borrowing options because of a tarnished credit history.

The bill would raise the cap on consumer finance loans to $15,000 and increase the interest rates charged for most loans, which the industry argues is needed given the rising cost of living since the current regulatory scheme was put in place three decades ago.

But consumer advocacy groups argue that interest rates already are so high that borrowers can't afford to pay off their loans and are caught in a cycle of borrowing.

"We're very disappointed that the Commerce Committee has voted to raise rates," said Al Ripley, director of the N.C. Justice Center's consumer and housing project.
"Clearly the bill has strong support, but we're going to do do everything we can to stop this bill from passing."

Source: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/consumer-loan-bill-moves-forward

Scandal denver broncos new england patriots Zayn Malik miss america 2013 Oscar Nominations ABC Family