Full-service U.S. bank offices: 81,669 in June 2020, 73,154 in June 2026, by our count from FDIC data. New from @patrickmbrenner and me: reject national rate caps, and decide bank applications on the statutory record. southwestpolicy.com/reject-p…
2.6% of families took out a payday loan in 2025, up from 2.1% in 2022, per the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances, via 24/7 Wall St. A rate cap doesn't shrink that need. It decides whether a licensed lender can still meet it. 247wallst.com/personal-finan…
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Fannie and Freddie still require three credit reports; as of Oct. 19, FHFA was studying one or two. Credit checks are under 1% of loan costs, @patrickmbrenner wrote in April, and a single file lets lenders cherry-pick the most flattering data. washingtontimes.com/news/202…
The OCC gave Coinbase an unconditional national trust charter Friday, 13 months after it applied; conditional approval came in April. Application, conditions, decision, all on the record. Every charter applicant should get that process. bankingdive.com/news/coinbas…
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A restaurant buys food for $10 and lists it at $20. Nobody expects it sold at cost; the markup pays for staff, rent, insurance and spoilage. An APR is the same kind of number: a price, not a profit margin. From my Sept. 8 column in DC Journal: dcjournal.com/what-does-a-pi…
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Sunday she's ready to work with President Trump on a 10% credit card rate cap. Banks averaged 22.36% on card accounts assessed interest in Q3, per the Fed. Cap the price below the risk and lenders cut limits and close accounts. newsweek.com/elizabeth-warre…
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AFSA's Q3 lender survey, via @amerbanker: cost-of-funds index -60.5, an 11-quarter low; subprime loan performance -51.7. Its economist expects higher funding costs to reach rates. A 36% cap doesn't move. The riskiest loans stop fitting under it. americanbanker.com/news/lend…
CFPB research, 2014: consumers with mostly medical collections were later delinquent like consumers scoring about 10 points higher. That supports reweighting, not a ban. White Paper 13, by my colleague Andrew Nigrinis, on the rule vacated in July 2025: southwestpolicy.com/the-misu…
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New York Fed economists studied states that capped rates at 36%. For the riskiest tenth of borrowers, balances fell about 15% and accounts about 20%. Delinquency did not improve. Credit rose for safer borrowers. From my Sept. 19 @rc_markets column: realclearmarkets.com/article…
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FHA mortgage, April 2025: $414,346 note, 6.548% APR, $503,367 in finance charges. Typical $300 two-week payday loan: $45 fee, 391% APR. The APR calls only one of them bad debt. White Paper 14, by my colleagues Evan Chang and @patrickmbrenner: southwestpolicy.com/the-mora…
Diesel topped $6 a gallon this year, per AAA, and railroads move a ton of freight close to 500 miles per gallon. My colleague @patrickmbrenner on the Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger (no STB decision as of Oct. 29; comments due Nov. 18): dcjournal.com/diesel-is-driv…
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Kent Kaiser in The Hill yesterday: reform the NAIC, don't move insurance oversight to Washington. The NAIC reported $161.4M in 2024 revenue, about 94% from the industry it regulates. No Form 990 since 1955. From @patrickmbrenner's Aug. 28 WSJ op-ed: wsj.com/opinion/how-did-a-no…
Since 1998 Michigan has made the NAIC, the private nonprofit where regulators write model insurance laws, report its revenues, officer pay and accreditation standards yearly. New Mexico could too. No such bill had been filed as of Oct. 22. My column: santafenewmexican.com/opinio…
In August, Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged regulators to reject OppFi's bank deal over APRs up to 195% and charge-offs above 55%. One fact stated twice: the losses set the price. OppFi withdrew Nov. 3. Our Aug. 15 paper, by @patrickmbrenner and me: southwestpolicy.com/report-f…
Price 100 drivers at one flat rate and the 25 careful ones go from $75 to $106.25 a month, up 42%. The riskiest 25 get a 29% cut. New York's One Fair Price Act (passed June 4, not yet sent to the governor) exempts insurance and credit. My letter: washingtontimes.com/news/202…
As of Oct. 19, FHFA is studying one or two credit reports for mortgages, not three. But 35% of consumers have a bureau score 10+ points off their three-score median. Why @Anna_Gonz1 and I say keep tri-merge until an alternative is tested in public: southwestpolicy.com/tri-merg…
OppFi withdrew its OCC, Fed and FDIC applications to buy BNC National Bank yesterday, citing a "lack of articulated objective standards." Enova pulled its Grasshopper applications Sept. 14. The statute lists the factors. Judge applications on them. pymnts.com/news/acquiring/20…
