Comment Period Open for Loan Proposals

A 90 day public comment period is about to begin on proposed regulations for short-term lenders by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The federal agency wants to require lending companies to prove that borrowers are able to repay loans without having to take out additional loans.  Alabama and other states have been seeking way to strengthen rules governing payday and auto-title lending.  President of the lending trade group Borrow Smart Alabama says the proposal is not good for consumers.  Arise Citizen's Policy Project analyst Stephen Stetson debunks the idea that the new rules would put lenders out of business.  Last year Alabama launched a pay-day lending database to enforce a law that limits consumers to having no more than $500 dollars in payday loans at once.  A bill that would have given borrowers up to six months to pay back loans failed in the Legislature this year.