San Antonio is seeing a big drop off in what was once a growth industry, payday lenders. According to the San Antonio Express-News' Patrick Danner, the recent decision by EZCorp to pull the plug on San Antonio, and taking 30 payday shops with it, represents a 40 percent drop since the city instituted tougher regulations on credit companies a few years ago.
Advocates for the law argued that they reigned in inflated interest rates that were on their face predatory.
The state failed to pass state-wide legislation this past session on payday and auto-title lenders, but the other cities continued to pass their own, and numbers across the state are on as well. Has the tide turned on a very unpopular profession?
Guests:
- Ann Baddour, Director of the Fair Financial Services Project at Texas Appleseed
- Diego Bernal, State Representative for district 123, who helped pass the city's stronger regulations on the payday industry
