Payday Loan Reforms Fall Short, Consumer Advocates Say

Last year, New Mexico’s state legislature took action against predatory lenders, with HB 347.  Reforms to the state’s Small Loan Act went into effect in January of this year…. But did the reforms go far enough?   Before the reforms, some lenders charged an astronomical 300 percent interest. That figure has dropped to 175 percent since the new law took effect, but its still too high.  And critics are now saying the new law does not do enough in protecting unwary consumers.  Wake Up Call host Ellen Lockyer spoke with Lindsay Cutler, an attorney with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty about it.