美国国家公共电台 NPR Move To Pull Consumer Protection Rule Heightens Debate Over Payday Lending

Move To Pull Consumer Protection Rule Heightens Debate Over Payday Lending

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Some people rely on borrowing money from themselves. You get a payday loan. It's cash you promise to pay back when your next paycheck arrives. The Trump¹ administration has been scaling back enforcement of this industry, and Kathy Kraninger, who runs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will likely be asked why when she testifies before a House panel today. Here's NPR's Daniella Cheslow.

(SOUNDBITE OF DRAWER CLOSING AND KEYS JANGLING)

UNIDENTIFIED ADVANCE AMERICA EMPLOYEE: (Counting out bills, unintelligible).

DANIELLA CHESLOW, BYLINE²: This is the sound of a payday loan, cash you can get quickly just by walking into a store. I'm at this Springfield, Va., branch of Advance America during a rainy lunch hour, and a woman who works as a medical assistant comes in.

ANGELA: I borrowed $300. Interest is $73.

CHESLOW: Angela, who asked us to only use her first name to protect her privacy, is getting a 30-day loan to cover a family trip to New York. She says she prefers a payday loan because she doesn't trust herself with credit cards. It's convenient and quick. All Angela had to do was show her ID and write a check for the day the loan was due. She brought in a bank statement and a pay stub to get her first loan, but she's taken out a few since then - about two a year.

JAMIE FULMER: We provide consumers from all across the country with the ability to access money when they need it most.

SCOTT ASTRADA: The very model of the loan is to take out as much money from the borrower's bank account until that inevitable³ default.

CHESLOW: That's the industry view from Jamie Fulmer at Advance America, which has 1,900 payday lending branches, and a critical perspective from Scott Astrada at the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group. And this is the heart of the debate behind a rule drawn⁴ up under the Obama administration that never took effect. The rule would require payday lenders to make sure borrowers are able to repay their loans. Angela is confident she can pay this loan back, even though the interest rate works out to 300 percent over the course of a year.

The CFPB researched this issue. In a 2014 report, it found half of all payday loans are in a sequence at least 10 loans long with spiraling costs to borrowers. And that's why the bureau created the rule under former director Richard Cordray. He says the agency's mission has changed.

RICHARD CORDRAY: The new leadership at the CFPB has been much less aggressive about doing things that press hard on the industry to change in ways that help consumers.

CHESLOW: Democrats⁵ took control of the House, and they oppose rescinding⁶ this payday loan rule. Consumer advocates say the rule is vital. So do veterans groups. The NAACP says, quote, "payday lenders have long preyed⁷ upon communities of color." But Quyen Truong, who served as deputy general counsel at the CFPB under Obama, says banks have tighter criteria⁸ than other lenders for small dollar amounts. Sometimes borrowers don't have good enough credit to qualify for credit cards. Under the current rules, she says...

QUYEN TRUONG: There's the possibility that some segments of the population don't have very good alternatives to the payday product.

CHESLOW: She says the rule would have posed an existential threat to the industry and some lenders had already shut down, anticipating the impact. Angela, the borrower I spoke⁹ to, says she's grateful the rule may not take effect.

ANGELA: I'm happy that they have this. I can actually get a loan and be able to pay them back easily and have extra money with a little bit of interest but - is able to pay it back.

CHESLOW: She says she pays her loans back early to save on interest. But payday lenders in most states don't offer discounts for customers who pay early, and the CFPB's own research shows many borrowers get trapped by debt. With no change in regulation, that will continue to be a problem. Daniella Cheslow, NPR News, Springfield, Va.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rescinding   

v.废除，取消( rescind的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• You realize this effectively kills any chance we have of rescinding that order. 你意识到了这样我们就没机会废除这一命令？ 来自电影对白

7 preyed   

v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• Remorse preyed upon his mind. 悔恨使他内心痛苦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He had been unwise and it preyed on his conscience. 他做得不太明智，这一直让他良心不安。 来自辞典例句

8 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。