Exactly Just Just How Virginia’s 2020 Fairness in Lending Act Reforms loans that are small-Dollar
Legislation closes loopholes that are regulatory caps rates of interest, and offers classes for any other states
Overview
After many years of legislative efforts to foster a secure and market that is viable tiny loans, Virginia lawmakers in 2020 passed bipartisan legislation—the Fairness in Lending Act (S.B. 421/H.B. 789)—to prohibit loans with big last re payments, referred to as balloon payments, and reduce rates. The legislation rationalizes just exactly what was indeed a disparate structure that is regulatory governed by a patchwork of laws and regulations that permitted payday and automobile title loans with unaffordable re payments and needlessly high expenses, and exposed borrowers to economic damage, including duplicated borrowing and high prices of car repossession. Past research by The Pew Charitable Trusts indicated that ahead of the reforms, businesses routinely charged Virginians 3 x a lot more than clients in lower-cost states. 1
Virginia lawmakers balanced issues in regards to the accessibility to small-dollar credit with all the urgency of stopping lending that is harmful, a challenge that officials various other states have struggled with. Virginia’s approach that is evidence-based on effective reforms previously enacted in Colorado and Ohio that maintained extensive use of credit and measurably enhanced customer outcomes by shutting loopholes, modernizing outdated statutes, and prohibiting balloon payments. Legislators created the work to mirror “three key principles of accountable financing: affordable re payments, reasonable rates, and time that is reasonable repay.” 2
Pew’s analysis of this work confirmed that, underneath the legislation, lenders can profitably offer affordable installment loans with structural safeguards, saving the normal debtor a huge selection of bucks in costs and interest with estimated total consumer savings surpassing $100 million yearly. (See Dining Dining Dining Table 1.) This brief examines exactly exactly how Virginia reformed its laws to produce an even more modern, vibrant, and consumer-friendly small-loan market. […]