The Colorado Independent

Credit card reform may push more Americans into payday loan hell

By Becca Blond | 02.23.10 | 3:54 pm

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act, dubbed simply the “Credit Card Bill of Rights,” was backed by the President and was written to protect consumers from abuses that have come to define the credit card industry. The Act went into effect Monday. Unless you have a perfect credit score, however, the law might not do anything to help you borrow extra cash at a fair rate anytime soon.

Ferrandino weighs taking on payday loan industry in Colorado

By Joseph Boven | 02.03.10 | 11:44 am

The payday loan industry gouges Coloradans like it does Americans across the country, targeting mostly low-income single women, including military spouses. Denver Democratic state Rep. Mark Ferrandino tried and failed to introduce legislation in 2008 that would have curbed the worst of the abuses, where desperate borrowers take loans at hundreds of percent interest and enter a debt cycle they rarely are able to exit. Ferrandino may try it again this year.

Payday lenders prep to battle reform in Colorado

By Mary Kane | 10.08.09 | 9:05 am

Stung by losses in states that either refused to authorize its high-rate, short-term loans or moved to limit finance charges, the payday lending industry isn’t giving up without a fight. Its lobbyists are pressing hard in states where it sees opportunity to stave off reform, including Colorado, site of a major coming battle, where lenders are already making financial contributions to minority groups to win favor.

Road to ruin: Online payday lenders fight regulation

By Zach Carter, TMC MediaWire Blogger | 06.09.09 | 8:10 am

Consumer protection shortfalls are not limited to messy subprime mortgages. Lagan Sebert and David Murdoch detail the payday loan industry’s continued assault on U.S. consumers for the American News Project. By offering small loans, typically in amounts ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, payday lenders target consumers who need money for basic necessities, then charge them outrageous interest rates (as in, above 700%).