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ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION
NEWS: September 8, 2016 NEWS is brought to you by AFSPA Endorsed SUPPLIERS |
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CFPB Buried, Ignored Positive Payday Loan Customer "Tell Your Story" Testimonials It Requested
Tuesday, September 6, 2016 * CFSA
Alexandria, Va. - New documents released today reveal for the first time more than 12,000 positive testimonials that payday loan customers submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as part of the Bureau's "Tell Your Story" initiative. These positive consumer stories, which comprise 98% of the payday loan-related submissions, have never been made public before. Instead, the Bureau buried and ignored these real-life customer stories as it marched forward with proposed rules that would restrict access to credit for millions of Americans.
The customer stories were unearthed through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed December 31, 2015 by a representative of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) - the trade association that represents the short-term lending industry. During the five-year period covered by the FOIA request, 12,308 comments of the 12,546 comments submitted on short-term loans praised the industry and its products and services, or otherwise indicated positive experiences.
The FOIA documents also revealed only an extremely small number of critical payday lending comments were submitted to the CFPB - just 240 or less than 2%. What's more, the vast majority of these critical comments were either mistakenly categorized as payday comments or they relate to scams and unregulated lenders that the CFPB's proposed rule fails to address.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Of the 12,546 comments submitted to the CFPB's "Tell Your Story" portal, 12,308 comments - or more than 98% -- praised the industry and its products and services.
Fewer than 240 customer comments - less than 2% -- were negative.
Of the 240 negative comments, 84 comments were mistakenly categorized as payday lending comments. They did not reference the payday lending industry, but rather bank complaints, insurance complaints, and student loan complaints, to name a few examples.
Of the 240 negative comments, 74 comments related to payday lending scams and/or unregulated lenders, both important consumer protection issues that the CFPB's proposed rule fails to address.
This data is consistent with complaint data from the CFPB and FTC, as well surveys of payday loan customers. Since the CFPB's complaint portal came online in 2011, complaints regarding payday loans have been miniscule - just 1.5% of all complaints. Meanwhile, these complaints continue to decline. The CFPB data mirrors consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. In its summary of 2015 consumer complaints, the FTC found that just 0.003% of more than three million complaints related to payday lending. In both the CFPB data and FTC data, mortgages, credit cards and many other financial services had exponentially higher numbers of consumer complaints.
This data is consistent with complaint data from the CFPB and FTC, as well surveys of payday loan customers. Since the CFPB's complaint portal came online in 2011, complaints regarding payday loans have been miniscule - just 1.5% of all complaints. Meanwhile, these complaints continue to decline. The CFPB data mirrors consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. In its summary of 2015 consumer complaints, the FTC found that just 0.003% of more than three million complaints related to payday lending. In both the CFPB data and FTC data, mortgages, credit cards and many other financial services had exponentially higher numbers of consumer complaints.
Customer surveys of payday loan borrowers confirm their overwhelming satisfaction with the product. A GSG/Tarrance survey found that 96% of borrowers saw payday loans as useful and a vast majority would recommend the service to others, highlighting their satisfaction with the service. An earlier Harris Interactive survey of payday loan borrowers had similar findings. Ninety-seven percent of borrowers were satisfied with the product and 95% value having the option to take out a payday loan.
"The Bureau is pursuing its ideological crusade against the regulated short-term lending industry with its proposed rules, while ignoring the positive experiences shared by consumers," said Dennis Shaul, CEO of CFSA. "While claiming to listen to consumers through the "Tell Your Story" initiative, the CFPB discounts actual consumers' needs and preferences. It is clear that millions of consumers are satisfied with the payday loan product and services, and do not want the federal government to take this valued credit option away from them."
The Bureau has long claimed that its complaint database serves as its regulatory compass, and CFPB Director Richard Cordray recently told the Wall Street Journal that the database is part of the agency's DNA and plays an integral role in guiding its areas of focus and enforcement actions. The CFPB's "Tell Your Story" initiative now confirms the numbers in the CFPB's complaint database; consumers are satisfied with payday loans. However, the CFPB's disingenuous and heavy-handed actions clearly raise questions about its objectives and whether preserving Americans' access to reliable and affordable short-term credit products is a priority.
Americans nationwide ardently disagree with the kind of unnecessary overreach of the short-term lending industry proposed by the CFPB. In the GSG/Tarrance survey, 74% of borrowers said they are concerned about more restrictions on payday loans by the government and 80% believe current regulations are enough. In the same survey, approximately two-thirds of borrowers oppose the proposed CFPB regulations.
"Consumers understand these loan products and make informed decisions when they need short-term credit," said Shaul. "But the Bureau has continually disregarded their perspective, listening to dozens of special interest groups and consumer activist organizations rather than any of the millions of American consumers who will face the harsh consequences of its rulemaking."
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Payday Business Owners:
HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR '
FIGHT BACK PACKET
'?
If you HAVE.....ARE YOU IMPLEMENTING IT?
It's YOUR industry, YOUR future, so
get us YOUR
Contact Info,
# of Stores and where they are
so we can get
a complete package out to you
TODAY!
or
Watch for the upcoming CFSA webinar, FREE for ALL members
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The public comment period has begun and will continue through October 7th.
Our goal is to generate as many different comment letters from our member companies,
including you, your employees, business associates, contacts and customers.
YOU need to get involved to protect
your business,
your customers, your industry.
We will send you a "FIGHT BACK PACKET"
with information about the CFPB's comment period and how to send a letter to the regulators in Washington
to prevent this rule from harming your business and denying your customers access to credit.
Get involved and you can change the rule!
Call us toll-free at
1.888.544.2313
for more information
or to get your
"
FIGHT BACK PACKET
"
or
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Credit Unions Debate Payday Rules
The CFPB's proposed payday lending rules will cause credit unions to flee the market, but they will help one group of people - loan sharks - two credit union officers have told the agency.
"Your regulation will now create an environment for loan sharks to prosper once again as no 'legal' financial institution could ever consider offering a loan under your ludicrous regulation," Marty Tressell, president/CEO of High Plains Federal Credit Union, told the agency. High Plains, a credit union with about $39 million in assets, is located in Clovis, N.M.
Another credit union official echoed Tressell's sentiments.
"Unless you can regulate the individual in the alley with a paper sack full of money to loan, you aren't going to make a dent in the problem," Terry Tucker, operations manager and U.S. Treasury contact officer at Pine Federal Credit Union in Pine Bluff, Ark., told the CFPB in comments submitted to the agency. "And those guys break fingers and legs if a payment is missed. If you want to fix the problem, spend your money on education in the schools."
Tucker also made a recommendation.
"If you don't believe me, have some of your staff dress down into blue collar clothing and hit the street corners and start asking where you can borrow some money quickly and quietly," he said. "I assure you, you will get data that will seldom, if ever, show up on a government report."
Tucker said he purposely was blunt with the CFPB.
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"Lenders are finding out that there are millions of valuable underbanked consumers if they can only be found," says Greg Rable, CEO at
FactorTrust. "Our data and the ability to score these consumers, whether they have thin or thick credit files, protects lenders while giving more consumers easier access to better credit products."
FactorTrust's proprietary alternative credit data is not available from the Big 3 bureaus enabling lenders to offer underbanked consumers the credit they deserve. The company offers analytics and risk scoring information to make informed decisions about the consumers they want. The company recently announced the launch of its LendProtect MLA Check which allows lenders to quickly verify covered borrowers and remain in compliance with the Department of Defense's (DOD) Military Lending Act (MLA). Compliance with the MLA starts on Oct. 3, 2016.
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Lou Holtz inspires with keys to successful life
Legendary football player, coach and analyst Lou Holtz took the stage Aug. 17 to speak to a team of store managers, operations managers, directors and executives with Nashville-based financial services company Advance Financial.
"It was an honor to hear Coach Holtz speak, and I am so happy to have shared the moment with our wonderful staff," said Advance Financial Chief Executive/Chief Experience Officer Tina Hodges. "Coach Holtz is a true orator: funny, motivational and insightful. We'll carry his lessons with us for years to come."
Advance Financial owners Mike and Tina Hodges asked Coach Holtz to share his values because they are so similar to the company culture that the Hodges have worked to create-dedicated to serving their community, their customers and their employees, and, quite simply, doing the right thing. This experience is just one of the many outsize growth opportunities that Advance Financial works to give its employees.
From inspiring speakers to paid volunteer time off to a corporate care fund for employees in crisis, Advance Financial believes that by giving a world-class experience to its employees, they will pay it forward and deliver a VIP experience to their customers.
"Our goal is to bring world-class service to our customers, who represent a segment of the population in Middle Tennessee that is not used to being treated like VIPs," Hodges said. "We want to be known as the company in Middle Tennessee that treats you like royalty no matter who you are or how much money you make. We believe that every person deserves respect and should be treated with dignity. And when we treat our staff members this way, they are likely to pass this attitude on to their customers."
Looking to change public perception of the industry and provide world-class service to its customers, the Hodges hope that Advance Financial's commitment to caring for its employees and its customers will force others to raise the bar when it comes to customer service.
Advance Financial, founded in 1996, is a family owned and operated financial center based in Nashville, Tenn. The company currently operates more than 70 locations throughout Tennessee and employs more than 600 local representatives. By focusing on a wide variety of financial services (including wire transfer, bill payment, unlimited free money orders and FLEX loans) they are committed to building long-lasting, strong relationships with every customer. Advance Financial recently earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country for the fifth year in a row.
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COMMUNITY
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Check City today announced the results of its successful partnership with the Three Square Food Bank to collect non-perishable food, water and hygiene products and cash donations for the second annual Check City Checks Hunger food drive. The food drive collected more than 3,100 pounds of food, water and hygiene products and raised $100,000 in monetary donations to benefit Three Square, which will use the funds to provide approximately 300,000 meals for struggling individuals and families at risk of hunger in Southern Nevada communities.
For this year's fundraising campaign, Check City initially committed to match every customer donation dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000. Upon the campaign's conclusion in April, the company was so inspired by the generosity of its customers, who collectively contributed $24,700, that it matched all donations to provide a $50,000 check to Three Square. Three Square corporate partners Barrick Gold Corporation and NV Energy Foundation generously agreed to match the monetary donations from Check City's campaign, which doubled the total to $100,000.
With 32 branches across the state, Check City has provided financial solutions and other services to Nevadans for 17 years. The company encourages its customers and employees to participate in various charity drives and volunteerism throughout the year. In 2015, Check City began its partnership with Three Square, the largest food bank in Nevada and Southern Nevada's only food bank providing food assistance to the residents of Lincoln, Nye, Esmeralda and Clark Counties. In the partnership's inaugural year, Check City Checks Hunger collected 3,066 pounds of food and raised $14,700 in customer donations, which were matched dollar-for-dollar by Check City and
rounded up to $30,000.
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Employers embracing financial wellness programs, survey shows
Companies are getting serious about financial wellness among employees. This comes amidst increasing awareness of the role that employers can play in educating their workers about how to better safeguard the wages they earn.
A new survey by Norwalk, Connecticut-based business services company Xerox of 500 benefit managers from large employers found that just over half are either planning on putting in place a financial well-being program for employees or are already in the process of implementing one.
Thirty-eight percent of employers already have a financial wellness program in place, such as financial health assessments, workshops, or presentations on financial planning or retirement planning calculators.
More than three-quarters of employers surveyed viewed such benefits as very effective in helping employees achieve financial stability.
Employers view financial planning assistance as a way to help employees reduce stress and keep them focused on their jobs. Past studies have highlighted the amount of work time lost by employees who are preoccupied with financial problems. Calculating the productivity lost from money-related worries is near-impossible, but clearly employers have determined that it's a problem big enough to do something about.
Read more at BENEFITS PRO
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CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU UNVEILS YOUTH FINANCIAL EDUCATION INITIATIVES
Bureau Releases Report on Teaching Financial Fundamentals and Offers a Tool for Educators
Washington, D.C. - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today unveiled new resources for financial educators including Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability, a report that presents a new financial capability developmental model and makes recommendations for financial education. Based on the developmental framework described in the report, the Bureau also released a personal finance pedagogy, a teaching tool to enhance personal financial education in schools.
"The first line of defense for consumers to protect themselves is the ability to make informed and responsible decisions, and financial education that starts in childhood is an esThe CFPB created the model to help financial education policy and program leaders to more effectively deliver financial education opportunities to American youth. The report outlines the building blocks of financial capability, as well as strategies for supporting its development from early childhood through adolescence. Financial capability is the capacity to manage financial resources effectively, understand and apply financial knowledge, and the ability to make a plan, stick to it and successfully complete financial tasks. People with financial capability are more likely to be able to meet current and ongoing financial obligations and feel more secure in their financial futures.
The Bureau's report Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability highlights key milestones from early childhood through young adulthood that support the development of adult financial capability, and makes recommendations on achieving it, including:
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ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION
NEW FSBO LISTING:
2 TENNESSEE
AFSPA helps our members grow their Alternative Financial Services business by providing them with the best information, research, data, support, relationships and by vetting and presenting the best available product and service providers for the Alternative Financial Services Industry.
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| Alternative Financial Service Providers Association
757.737.4088 315 Tuscarora St., Lewiston, NY 14092
dan@afspassociation.com
www.afspassociation.com |
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