News about the national interest rate of 36 per cent limit for a mortgage, car loans, payday loans and other consumer credit transactions are now being revived by Senator Dick Durbin.
Durbin is reintroducing a bill called ‘Protecting Consumers From Unreasonable Credit Rates of 2019’ to end shifting interest rates on different lending transactions. The senator supports this bill, siding consumers when it comes to towering interest just to get credits.
Payday loans are among the unsecured type of lending scheme, with an interest rate of more than 35%. In defence of lenders, some customers applying for payday loans don’t have good credit rating and can’t prove that they are financially capable. Since these people are desperate to get credits, they are likely to agree to interest rates as big as 50 per cent.
According to a press release published by the Federal Reserve of the United States, about 40% of Americans don’t have savings to cover for an emergency expense. While credit cards are available, this isn’t an option because of credit limit and additional charges. What people rely on are unsecured loans just to get access to money.
In line with this problem, Sen. Durkin wants to crack down on sketchy lending procedures, with lenders charging excessive fees to consumers.
With nearly 12 million Americans relying on payday loans for credits, lenders are incurring more money about $8 billion, coming from fees.
“We need to take action – now more than ever – to protect working families from predatory lending practices by capping interest rates and fees,” said Durbin.
Under the proposed new bill, Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act, open-end and closed-end consumer credit transactions must have a maximum APR equal to 36 per cent. This includes car loans, overdraft loans, car title loans, payday loans and mortgages.
The bill will still be reviewed and needs more sections for specific penalties for violators.
