The results of a payday lending referendum trying to get on the Nov. 4 ballot likely will affect thousands of Ohioans’ jobs and the finances of even more Ohioans who have patronized the industry.
Should the state’s crackdown on the industry hold, its effects remain unclear, even to those who pushed for changes the industry claims will run it out of Ohio.
Supporters of the payday lending industry are collecting signatures to put on the ballot a referendum that would give voters the chance to repeal a portion of a recent law capping short-term payday loans at 28 percent interest, expressed annually, instead of 391 percent.
The industry maintains that making its unsecured loans at 28 percent interest is unprofitable and that most of the 1,378 payday lending stores across Ohio will close, resulting in the loss of as many as 6,000 jobs, increased vacancies in commercial plazas and one less credit option for financially stretched Ohioans.
Source:http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/;
|
