![]() ![]() Fort Worth later followed by passing a weaker version ordinance through a divided vote of 5-3. When the ordinance passed 9-0, Arlington became the first city in Tarrant County to pass restrictions limiting these types of lenders. Instead, the council crafted an ordinance, using the model ordinance from the Texas Municipal League, to manage the advantage lenders have over borrowers.įirst, Arlington split the broad category of financial institutions to clearly define what are banks, and what are “alternative financial institutions” like payday lenders and car title lenders. “You don't want to paint everybody with the same brush.” “We were not interested in not having them,” she said. She was concerned with balancing the need to regulate the industry without pushing out the business from town entirely. “We got people to come and tell their stories about how they lost their car, their jobs and got into so much financial trouble over a small loan they took out.”įormer Arlington Councilmember Shari Capehart strongly advocated for the ordinances. “It wasn't just people from the parish,” the Rev. For the roadshow, experts travel to cities around the state to advocate for these types of ordinances. Kelley brought the Texas Catholic Conference to Arlington. “They're getting themselves into something they may not ever get out of,” the Rev. While in Arlington, he advocated for the payday lending ordinance after hearing about the issue from parishioners. Joseph Parish in Arlington before recently being moved to St. Forty-five used a sample ordinance created by the Texas Municipal League, which has successfully reduced the number of payday lenders in the cities where it was enacted. More than 70 cities in Texas have possessed ordinances restricting payday lenders. “That's just so sad to put that in there and say, ‘This is the only community support we have for you.'” “It takes over an hour on a bus to get to fresh food, but you can walk to a payday lender and auto title,” Rosedale said. Data is via the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner. Payday lenders often congregate in poor neighborhoods.įort Worth Report This graphic depicts six ZIP codes within Fort Worth and the proportion of people in poverty and payday lenders. Both also operated payday lending stores until they retreated in response to state and federal regulations. Fort Worth-based FirstCash and Cash America, which merged in 2016, operate a large chain of pawnshops across the country and around the world. Historically, Tarrant County has been especially resistant to regulation. ![]() Texas has the highest interest rates in the country at 664% calculated on a $300 loan, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. In Texas, regulation at the local level attempts to make up for a lack of limits at the state level. In the coming weeks, the new council member said he would review past ordinances and speak with state representatives to determine how to best address the issue of payday lenders. The council has the power to change this, he said. He said lenders in his district take advantage of borrowers and stamp out positive development in underprivileged areas. ![]() He became aware of the problem two years ago when multiple aggressive payday lenders moved into empty storefronts off of Lancaster Avenue. Nettles represents many of the communities targeted by payday lenders. In 2016, Arlington went further by requiring new businesses to stay certain distances from residents, major highways and each other.ĭistrict 8 Councilmember Chris Nettles succeeded Kelly Allen Gray, who voted for the ordinance in 2019. Provides a list of nonprofit credit-counseling agencies to customers.Forces these businesses to register with the city, maintain loan records for at least three years and.Limits repayment terms to four installments that each cover 25% of the principal.Limits payday loans to 20% of a borrower’s gross monthly income,.The difference between the neighboring cities is an ordinance that restricts where payday lenders can establish locations.īoth Arlington and Fort Worth have an ordinance that: “We would hope that all of them (council members) would be willing and interested in taking up a local city ordinance,” Shannon Rosedale, who works on public policy for Catholic Charities Fort Worth, said. Now, the Catholic Diocese and Catholic Charities of Fort Worth are urging the new council and mayor to consider further regulating the payday loan industry to catch up with Arlington’s measures. The number of lenders per capita there is also significantly below Fort Worth. Eventually, the city passed a pair of ordinances that restricted where and how lenders operate.įive years later, the number of lenders has dropped from 25 to 18 in Arlington. In 2015, Arlington became the first city in Tarrant County to pass an ordinance restricting the influence of payday lenders in the city. ![]()
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