WASHINGTON JOINS THE FIGHT AGAINST PAY DAY LENDING

          HARRISBURG, December 6 – State Senator Leanna M. Washington (D-Phila.) stood in support of payday lending legislation (Senate Bill 101), sponsored by Sen. Vincent Fumo (D-Phila.), at a press conference yesterday.

          “Pay day lenders are disproportionably located in African American communities and near military bases,” Washington said.  “They are preying on these groups of people.”

          The press conference was a precursor to Senate committee hearings today on the legislation, introduced in November, that would close a loophole that payday lenders use to get around the current state prohibition against short-term loans carrying extraordinarily high interest rates.

          “Once payday lenders get someone to borrow, usually they get them to keep on borrowing - which puts them into debt,” Washington said. “Some consumers are "flipped" 8 times by a single lender. But what many people do not know is that consumers can also go to more than one pay day lender and borrow more money, which will eventually put them in serious financial jeopardy."

          Washington added that the average borrower pays $800 to borrow $325.00.