Payday loan regulations rollback is win for business, consumers

Chalk up another win for President Trump’s deregulatory agenda – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week announced a plan to reconsider an Obama-era regulation that would have made it harder for working Americans to access credit.

Without reform, the CFPB’s rule governing payday and vehicle-title loans would have all but eliminated the industries, wiping out around $20 billion worth of credit from the economy and stripping away loan options from countless consumers.

Payday loans may not be suitable for everyone, but they help millions of people bridge a gap during hard times. For example, a recent Federal Reserve survey found that 40 percent of American adults do not have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense.

For those on the financial fringe who lack savings or access to credit, paying a past-due utility bill or fixing a broken-down car can be tough. Small-dollar loans can get those vulnerable consumers through to their next paycheck, and they beat having the electricity shut off or being stranded without a car.

So what was the CFPB’s justification for the near-elimination of a valued industry?

Read the full article at Fox Business.