Americans Loathe the Payday Lending Industry
A new poll from Lake Research Partners finds that Americans by a large margin hold a negative view of the payday loan industry. It concludes that 65 percent of voters have a negative view of the industry, while by a margin of more than 3 to 1 they view these lenders as “predators.”
In terms of policy, the poll found that 88 percent of Americans believe the lenders should verify their customers' ability to repay before offering loans, while 86 percent believe the loans should be affordable relative to customers' incomes and expenses.
“This poll confirms that Americans recognize that most payday lenders are modern-day loan sharks,” said Liz Ryan Murray, who is the policy director at National People's Action. “Everyday people across the country are calling on the CFPB to stop payday loan shark practices. A large majority of Americans agree that the industry must be forced to abandon predatory practices.”
NPA is launching a week of actions to coincide with Shark Week 2015 as a part of its goal of holding predatory loan sharks accountable.
