Vote expected on payday loans

Vote expected on payday loans

A bill that reduces the 572-percent equivalent interest on payday loans – and extends the length of those loans – is expected to be introduced today.

“I think the consumer needs more time to pay,” said House Banking Committee Chairman George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg. “I would like to move Mississippi up in the rankings and reduce the APR (annual percentage rate).”

Flaggs said he plans to present the amended legislation at 2 p.m. He expects a vote on the House floor afterward.

The 572-percent rate is the highest in the Southeast and one of the highest in the nation.

A Clarion-Ledger series last month exposed how some Mississippians have been caught in the “payday trap,” spiraling further and further into debt.

Clarion Ledger
1/18/10