A story by Leo Shane III in Military Times details how lending agencies are able to apply charges and penalties to short-term loans to military members that are predatory and debilitating, citing a report from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Current federal regulations cap interest rates on loans to military members at 36%, but the rules are woefully insufficient to protect service members and their families from predatory lenders, Shane’s report details.
“The current rules … are akin to sending a soldier into battle with a flak jacket but no helmet,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement to Military Times. “To give our troops full-cover protection, the rules need to be expanded.”