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** COVID-19 **

• Resource List for Arizonans
• Letter to U.S. Senate Leadership re Consumer Protections for next COVID-19 Legislation, signed by 92 public interest organizations | August 12, 2020
• Joint Consumer and Banking Trades Letter to the House and Senate: Garnishment | April 21, 2020
• Press Release | CEI, April 15, 2020
• Letter to Gov Ducey from CEI, MIJ, Wildfire | April 14, 2020
• Coalition letter to AG Brnovich | April 13, 2020
• Coalition letter to Governor Ducey | April 3, 2020
• Issue Brief - Not Essential Services during COVID-19 | CEI, March 31, 2020
• See also posts on Updates page

Arizonans Oppose Predatory Lending

AZ state legislators on 2/29/2016 revived a bill to allow payday lenders to offer 204% APR "flex loans".  Senator Kavanagh’s original flex loan bill, SB1447  failed to pass in Senate finance committee hearing on a 2-3 vote.  The payday lender bill was resurrected using a strike-everything tactic that inserted the flex loan bill language into SB 1316.

Christian leaders plead for Arizona legislators to reject usurious lending bill, SB 1316

Colonel Lee Lange
US Marine Corps (Ret.):

"The U.S. Department of Defense found that predatory lending underlines military readiness. SB1447 deliberately puts our military community, including veterans and their families, in harm's way - like sending a soldier to battle without ammunition.  This Marine urges our legislators to vote no to the payday lenders' bill, SB1447"

Pastor Dr. Warren Stewart Sr. 

President of the Paradise Missionary Baptist State Convention of Arizona: 

"A vote in favor of SB 1316 is as deeply immoral. Payday lenders will trap people in modern-day debt slavery. It violates the Bible's teachings against usury and against taking advantage of the poor.  The choice before legislators is simple: God or Greed?" 

Early Access Wage Programs

Early wage access programs—which allow workers to access wages they have already earned ahead of the regular payday—are booming.

Early Wage Access: A Good Option for Workers or a Fintech Payday Loan? | NCLC, March 2020

Payday Loan
Debt Trap Tracker

Consumer protections for payday and car-title loans, created by the previous leadership of the CFPB after years of research, were due to take effect on Aug. 19, 2019. Now, these latter-day loan sharks will trap more borrowers in vicious cycles of debt.

Since Director Kathy Kraninger has sided with the sharks and turned her back on consumers, American borrowers caught in this infamous debt trap have paid fees amounting to:

(click here to see the amount)

Arizona Coalition Ends Measure to End Predatory Car Title Lending

Press Release | AFL, February 3, 2020 

Arizona PBS Horizon interview with Kelly Griffith of CEI | August 15, 2019

Press Release | CEI, May 15, 2019

New Report: Title Lending in Arizona 2019

The Southwest Center for Economic Integrity, a nonprofit organization based in Tucson, has issued an updated report on title lending in Arizona.

STILL WRONG: Wrecked by Debt | CEI, August 4, 2019

Press Release | CEI, August 5, 2019

Related: I Need Cash Now, What Can I Do?  |  Wildfire AZ, 2018