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ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION
June 2, 2020
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Listen to Small Businesses, Customers to Craft Small-Dollar Loan Regulations. a CFSA Commentary
By Mickey Mays, Managing Partner of Thrifty Loans
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will soon release a final rule to fix the most glaring issues with its 2017 small-dollar lending rule, which stood to shutter hundreds of small businesses and leave millions of consumers without access to credit.
At the time, I saw firsthand that its so-called rulemaking 'process' wasn't really a process at all. Instead, the Bureau, led by former Director Richard Cordray, ignored small business owners and consumers at every turn. Now, the Bureau has a chance to right some of its worst wrongs and release a new rule that allows small businesses like mine to continue serving our communities.
I opened Thrifty Loans, which operates storefronts across Louisiana and East Texas, 22 years ago. As a small business owner with years of experience as a small-dollar lender, I was invited to provide input to the CFPB during its original rulemaking process in early 2015. The CFPB was required by law to hear from people like me under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), but in practice they treated it as just dotting their "i's" and crossing their "t's" to fulfill a requirement.
Read more at Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA)
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54% of Americans Think the Worst Is Yet to Come for the Stock Market
The economic impact of COVID-19 has been devastating thus far. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, countless small businesses have closed their doors, and retirement plan values have plummeted. In fact, 58% of Americans say COVID-19 has negatively impacted their long-term savings, and 54% worry the worst is still yet to come for the stock market, according to a new survey by Allianz. If you share a similar fear, here are a few steps to take.
1. Boost your emergency fund if you're still working
What does your emergency fund, which should be in cash, have to do with the stock market? It's simple. If your income is cut due to COVID-19, you may need cash reserves to pay your bills until you're working once again. And if you're worried about a declining stock market, the last thing you should plan to do is liquidate investments to get cash when you need it. Rather, you should boost your emergency savings so that if the market drops further, you'll have the option to take a cash withdrawal and leave your portfolio alone. Under normal circumstances, it's a good idea to have three to six months' worth of living expenses on hand for emergencies. During the current crisis, you may want to aim for the higher end of that range.
Read more at MOTLEY FOOL
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Texas Ranked Tenth in People Searching for Loans During Pandemic
With so many outlets being forced to close their doors during the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people are in need of financial assistance.
Unemployment is always a good option as long as you qualify for it and those stimulus checks did come in handy, but for so many it's not quite enough to pay the bills and put food on the table. And apparently, it's not enough for many Texans.
WalletHub conducted a study to determine which states had the most residents looking for additional help to make ends meet. The site combined internal credit report data with Google search statistics to reach their conclusions.
Read more at NEWS TALK 1290
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Who is Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin?
Mnuchin spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is overseeing the U.S. Treasury's response to one of the most unprecedented economic downturns in history caused by the coronavirus.
President Trump picked Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, for the Treasury post after he served as the national finance chairman for Trump's 2016 campaign. The pick surprised some, who saw Mnuchin as the Wall Street elite that Trump had criticized on the campaign trail.
Mnuchin spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs, where his father had also worked, according to Forbes. He got a job there right after graduating from Yale University with a degree in economics.
Read more at FOX BUSINESS
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The HEROES Act fixes what the CARES Act broke
Conservatives call the House Democrats' Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act a "gigantic political scam." Senate Republicans say HEROES, passed by the House on May 15th, is "dead on arrival when it reconvenes. As they negotiate with Democrats, Republicans should think carefully about certain student loan relief provisions in the bill.
Even in good times, a substantial portion of 45 million Americans' paychecks go to student loan payments rather than to goods and services that keep our economy churning. There's little doubt that this debt contributes to suppressed consumer consumption, which stifles economic growth. In this bad time, Americans collectively owe $1.6 trillion in student debt. This debt burden is now dramatically heavier with the economic shutdown and coming diminished post-pandemic employment opportunities. Read more at THE HILL
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Lending: Accept all forms of payment and keep the loans flowing.
Payliance supports many forms of lending, including installment, marketplace, merchant cash advance, payday and lease-to-own. Payliance consults with you to implement cost-effective, streamlined payments solution that meets the unique specifications of your product design and operational model.
PAYLIANCE
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Exclusive: U.S. taxpayers' virus relief went to firms that avoided U.S. taxes
LONDON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Last month Zagg Inc, a Utah-based company that makes mobile device accessories, received more than $9.4 million in cash from a U.S. government program that has provided emergency loans to millions of businesses hit by the coronavirus.
The money was part of the $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) - a linchpin of President Donald Trump's economic rescue package, meant to save small firms convulsed by the pandemic and help them to keep workers on the payroll.
Claimants certified the loans were necessary to support their business and received an average of $115,000 as of May 26, according to the Small Business Administration, which administers the program. Nasdaq-listed Zagg's loan was more than 80 times that amount.
That wasn't the only help Zagg had from the government lately. Last year, the company received a $3.3 million tax refund and racked up U.S. tax credits worth $7 million, its public filings show. It made $6 million in profit for 2019, but paid no tax in the United States.
Read more at REUTERS
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How Credit Unions Can Increase Member Engagement. by Kristen Hoyman
There is one question on everyone's mind right now: what's next? There's just so much uncertainty about the near future. What new realities will COVID-19 bring?
Your credit union members are worried. Like most Americans, they have many expenses. Members have questions about mortgages, car loans, stimulus checks, and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, along with what will happen from here. And in these complicated times, they are hoping that you will be a true partner to them, acting in stark contrast to a more impersonal big bank.
If you prioritize and increase engagement now, gaining your members' trust and lessening their financial fears, your credit union will reap the benefits later.
REPAY
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Banks face logistical, security challenges with branch reopenings
The right date to allow lobby foot traffic - and the proliferation of face masks - present just two tests in post-pandemic banking.
Two-and-a-half months since the first states began issuing stay-at-home orders in an effort to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, states are easing restrictions on businesses and large gatherings.
But as banks consider a return to normal business operations, they face security and logistical challenges that some say will be difficult to navigate.
Since banks have been considered essential businesses and haven't been ordered to close branches, many have been handling transactions through their drive-through windows or allowing customers in branches by appointment only. Like many other businesses still operating through the pandemic, many bank branches have cut hours and reduced office-based staff for safety reasons. Read more at BANKING DIVE
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4 ways to get a small loan for a money emergency
When the unexpected strikes - like a car accident, a medical emergency or a layoff caused by a raging global pandemic - sometimes the only way to find money is to borrow. But you don't want to compound your problem with a bad loan.
Payday loans are readily available but come at a steep cost: often about $15 per $100 borrowed from a storefront lender, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Expressed as an APR, that's nearly 400%.
To avoid getting gouged for a small loan, you can follow some basic rules of thumb. Look for fixed monthly payments and a short repayment term of three to 12 months. Make sure those payments cost you less than 5% of your monthly income. And watch out for a surprise "balloon payment": a large final bill at the end of the term.
That will help you avoid a bad loan, but you should aim for a good one. Here's how to get a small personal loan for the lowest cost.
Read more at YAHOO FINANCE
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ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION
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Alternative Financial Service Providers Association
757.737.4088 315 Tuscarora St., Lewiston, NY 14092
[email protected]
www.afspassociation.com |
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