A bill that would cap interest rates on short-term consumer loans advanced out of Senate subcommittee last week. The bill will now go before the entire chamber this week.

The state Division of Banking says that there are 231 Delayed Deposit Services Businesses in Iowa. The Division released an amazing metric about the concentrated use of these loans among a select (more…)

H&R Block issued an early summary of its tax season on Thursday. The report shows that Block is doing better than last year, particularly with its digital returns.

In all, returns are up more than 2 percent.

These are interesting numbers. Since they only go through February 15th, the customer population (more…)

Finance leader speaks to payday lenders: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) will be the keynote speaker for next week’s Community Financial Services Association (CFSA) in Hollywood, Florida. The meeting includes sessions “Exit/Transition planning for the privately held payday lender”,” and “Tribal Lending: Implications of the new Colorado Supreme Court Opinion.” McHenry is chairing a Congressional committee that will establish means for more oversight of TARP. Sustaining members of CFSA can reserve a space at the meeting for $400,000.

More Income Inequality with Town and Gown: There seem to be two types of areas where there is (more…)

Big banks have already said that they intend to enter the prepaid card market, but their success or failure is far from certain and could hinge on how they frame the purpose of the entire space.

Banks are no longer going to offer free checking willy nilly. You will have to have a hefty deposit account, or use other services that generate enough revenue to justify the costs to the bank. It is the (more…)

While a lot has been said about how banks are moving risk off their balance sheets and on to the Federal Housing Adminisitration, those critiques are really too broad. Yes, banks are relying on the FHA loan program, but others are not.

The FHA charges an upfront premium to borrowers when it makes a loan. The fee is currently 1 percent. There are  (more…)