A new law governing short-term consumer credit goes into effect today in Colorado. The law eliminates payday loans and, in their place, creates a six-month consumer installment loan product. The industry associations representing lenders that formerly offered payday loans in Colorado -- the Colorado Financial Service Centers Association (COFiSCA) and the Community Financial Services Association (CFSA) -- issued the following statement regarding the new law:
The new law that goes into effect today is the result of definitive
action taken by the state legislature to eliminate payday loans in
Colorado. HB 1351, passed with the urging of groups opposed to
the payday lending industry, leaves over 300,000 consumers' in
Colorado without a convenient, highly-regulated credit product that
has been available to them for more than a decade. Moreover, the
new law has already exacerbated economic hardship in the state
with the closing of dozens of payday loan stores and the loss of at
least 100 full-time jobs with benefits.
Unfortunately, HB 1351 is yet another example of hasty, ill-
conceived anti-business regulation that limits consumer's short-term
credit options. The law allows lenders to offer consumers an
installment loan of no more than $500 for at least a six month period,
but eliminates consumers' ability to take out a loan simply to bridge a
cash shortfall until payday. In its present form the law offers
consumers little but confusion and complexity, and offers lenders
uncertainty in terms of a rational framework for implementation.
Our members have been working intently since HB 1351 was
signed into law by Governor Ritter on May 25th to evaluate whether
the loan product crafted by the legislature can be translated into a
viable business model. We do not know if this installment loan will
meet the needs of our customers, and we are concerned that its
complex nature will negatively affect the simplicity and
transparency they had come to expect with the payday loan
products previously offered. As an industry that serves over
300,000 Coloradans a year, there is no question that the need for
short-term personal credit remains strong, perhaps now more than
ever given the deteriorating economy across our state and country.
Over the upcoming months we hope to have a clearer understanding
of customer response to the new product offering. We will continue
working with state policy makers to refine the details of this new law in an
effort to better meet the needs of consumers.
In the meantime, we will work to assure that the lenders that make up CFSA and COFiSCA operate in a fully compliant manner.
Prairie Gateway re-branded to Victory Crossing {Commerce City}
Commerce City "We need to be sure that we are not left behind in ED..."
Will we ever see Development @ the Prairie Gateway site in Commerce City, CO??? It has been years since the Commerce City Civic Center and Rapids stadium have been built and still no economic development. I guess patience is really a virtue.
