A year ago, high-cost payday loans that preyed upon at-risk borrowers looked to be under assault.
In October 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized federal regulations to force payday lenders to consider whether borrowers could actually pay back their loans. Those rules, combined with a smattering of state laws that capped interest rates, were set to finally constrain the industry’s reach. Even the time-honored gimmick of using Internet sites or even Indian reservations to make payday loans nationally without abiding by state consumer protections faced resistance from state and federal law enforcement.
