Online Payday Loans

“…FDIC has developed the reputation of being soft on payday lending because we have not exclusively restricted payday lending activities. I think it is our view that there is a market of underserved people who are being served by payday lending, and that certain kinds of payday lending activities, if tightly supervised and controlled, do not represent safety and soundness concerns to the banks who engage in those activities.”

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) vice chairman John Reich expressed his views on payday lending at the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit…
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“We continue to believe that we have always conducted business in North Carolina in compliance with all applicable laws, and we will therefore continue to vigorously defend the agency business model. Regrettably, the commissioner’s ruling will eliminate one of the few short-term financial options North Carolina consumers have available to them.”

Payday lender Kenneth Compton comments on the order to halt payday loan operations in North Carolina…
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“We apologize for any hardship the elimination of this trusted, short-term financial option may cause the men and women who are dedicated to the service of our country. We also hope the elimination of this option does not push individuals into more expensive and/or unregulated forms of credit.”

Advance America CEO Kenneth Compton said that his company will no longer provide payday loans to military personnel…
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“We created our Choice Line of Credit product expressly to comply with the laws of Pennsylvania… Many Pennsylvanians have chosen to use our line of credit since it was introduced in June, which we believe is evidence of the growing value consumers place on such forms of convenient, unsecured loans.”

Advance America CEO Kenneth Compton responds to a Pennsylvania lawsuit supported by Governor Edward Rendell…
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“I invite City Council members to visit our [payday loan] stores and see what we do. However, if they do succeed in closing all of us down, I guess I’ll send my customers to them for a $50 loan when they need a little gas and groceries till they get paid. We provide a legitimate service to people who need small loans…”

Pawnshop veteran and payday lender Kevin MacDonald invites Jackson City Council members to visit his shop and educate themselves about his business before enacting legislation…
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“Everybody needs an enemy, and instead of going after the problem, they want to take a swing at payday [lending].”

Payday loan industry trade group lobbyist Lee Miller defends his industry and believes opponents should look at the true cause of financial difficulties…
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“We found a need for [payday loans]… all of a sudden for some reason we turned out to be bad guys that are taking advantage of people.”

Canadian payday lender Leo Sorensen defends his industry in an article…
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“The government of Manitoba has taken a very socialist attitude of where they want to go… Why are they regulating us? Are they telling Wal-Mart what to charge? Are they telling anybody else what to charge? It’s a free market.”

Payday lender Leo Sorensen believes that the government has no place telling a business what it can charge its customers. Sorenson, who in the past has compared the payday loan business to prostitution, claims he has every right to charge borrowers interest rates of more than 700% APR and even suggested that some of his customers may resort to stealing to pay bills if payday loans were not available…
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“It’s like going to buy a latte at Starbucks… You pay more than you should, but it’s convenient.”

Luanne Stoltz, vice president of the Oregon Community Financial Services Association, compares payday loans to lattes…
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“The reason payday lenders are in business is they do offer a service that other businesses don’t offer.”

Payday loan trade group spokeswoman Lyndsey Medsker defends her industry…
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