Texas Faith for Fair Lending is a grassroots effort by people of faith to change payday and auto title lending practices in Texas.
Currently, almost all payday and auto title lenders operate in a loophole in state law that sets no limits on the rates and fees they can charge Texans on small dollar, short term loans. It is common for the rates and fees charged to be the equivalent of 500% APR. These high cost loans are hurting Texas families. They are immoral, unethical and in direct contradiction of the religious values that most Texans hold.
Find out more at www.texasfaithforfairlending.org
Sign the Texas Faith for Fair Lending Petition
I support fair lending laws for all Texans. I encourage the Texas Legislature to close the "CSO loophole." Payday and auto title lenders should operate as licensed lenders in the state of Texas and comply with existing rate and fee caps for consumer loans. The CSO loophole is being exploited by lenders who charge customers usurious rates and fees, often equivalent to as much as 500% APR. These predatory loan operators entice desperate customers with the promise of “easy credit” only to pull them into a cycle of debt that drains money away from basic family necessities and from the local economy.
Texas faith communities are front-line witnesses to the pain and suffering caused by such financial ruin, and it is to our ministries that those in debt often look for aid. Loans, made without regard for the ability of the borrower to pay them back, are detrimental to the financial well-being of people in need of short term financial help. The state should be encouraging sound financial practices and should not stand by while some skirt the law and take advantage of people in need. Fair lending laws are good for all Texans.
