Latest News From Native American Voters Alliance

Building an active & informed Native American Electorate

March 22, 2018

Greetings!

Payday lenders finally hit a speed bump called HB347 which was passed during the 2017 Legislative session. Although this bill is still far from fair, we supported the bill as a first step to regulate payday lenders. That being said the Financial Institutions Division (FID) is proposing regulations to ensure that HB 347 is fully implemented. We need to make sure the FID does a good job. So, please read the following scenarios to better understand how the FID could help NM consumers. Also, we've provided sample text that you might want to use in your letter or call to the FID.

Comments to the FID are due at 5 pm on April 2, 2018.

To submit:

You may send written comments to: Financial Institutions Division P.O. Box 25101, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504, Attention: Public Comments.

Written comments may also be faxed to (505) 476-4670 .

Comments can be submitted by email to [email protected] or [email protected] .

All comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., on April 2, 2018 .

Click here for sample text to make comments to the Financial Institutions Division

Thanks to our friends at Prosperity Works for the heads up on this very important issue!

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Tell the FID to regulate the Payday industry

1) We don’t want predatory lenders to keep charging a higher rate to people that got loans earlier than 2018. Right now, we’re worried that predatory lenders could keep rolling the older loans and charging consumers the unregulated Annual Percentage Rates (APR) all because “new loans”, or “modified loans” are not clearly defined by the FID regulations. We believe they have the authority and responsibility to make sure the unregulated APR are not ‘grandfathered’ into existing laws, thus creating more poverty and hardship for those that needed a small loan.

2) Most of us have experienced frustration when it comes time to pay a bill and there are numerous fees, charges and extra costs for things we didn’t know we were going to be liable to pay. We inquire, argue and usually end up having to pay for all those extra costs and feel cheated. Right now we need to FID to ensure that all those costs are understandable, transparent and uniform. There are so many fees and hidden costs that when customers pay part of their loan, it hardly makes a dent in paying off the whole loan.

3) NAVA initially wanted to have payday lenders donate a portion of their profits to financial literacy in NM. We weren’t able to do this because NM didn’t know how much the payday industry was earning. The Payday industry was only required to keep data of loans that were charging more than 175% APR. Right now, we need the FID to ensure that information regarding these loans is obtained as part of their licensing requirement. We need the FID to ensure that the data collected is informative to the public. For instance, we should know the average loan amount, the types of loans and other demographic information as well. There is a whole host of information that needs to be collected in order for the public to understand the impact that payday, Refund Anticipation Loans and Title loans have on the NM economy.

4) We want the small loan industry to have their disclosures to be made available in other languages such as Navajo, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

5) HB 347 allows customers to use their timely payments as a way to build their credit history. However, for those that want to opt-out of payday loans to be part of their credit history should be allowed to do so.

Whew! See the sample text if you want to make your voice heard on this issue! Thanks!

Sincerely,

Native American Voters Alliance

NativeVotersAlliance.org