(NNPA)—The men and women who wear our nation’s uniform are expected to defend our nation at home and abroad. Yet, when it comes to financial services, service members are not always been protected in return.
The 2006 Military Lending Act (MLA) was enacted with broad and bipartisan support as a remedy to predatory lending that diminished military readiness. The first major step to provide financial protection to our armed forces was to limit interest rates and fees to no more than 36 percent rate cap for consumer credit. This rate cap initially applied to just three types of products: tax refund loans, and both payday and auto title loans. The law also prescribed limits of indebtedness for payday loans less than 90 days and auto title loans with terms less than 180 days.
MLA’s specific lending prescriptions had the unexpected result of lenders changing loan terms beyond the MLA’s provisions, sometimes by as little as an extra day. While technically observing the letter of the law, these profiteers exploited a lending loophole to continue entrapping active duty service members in predatory lending products.
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