Wards Corner Now – Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia

From the first day that Payday Lenders setup shop in the Greater Wards Corner Partnership area, the members of the Greater Wards Corner Partnership have worked to remove this predatory scourge from our neighborhood. No one has worked harder in the Partnership than Elyse Kalfus, President of the Greater Wards Corner Business Association, to bring to the attention of our elected representatives in Richmond the atrocities that Payday Lenders perpetrate on the financial health of our community.

Pilot Online reports that the General Assembly today approved restrictions on payday lending that include an interest rate ceiling and limits on the number of loans to individuals.

After years of negotiations, the legislation was approved and is being sent to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

The compromise limits borrowers to one loan at a time and no more than five short term loans in 180 days. At the end of that period, a person who has trouble making payments can ask for a 60-day extended payment period.

Once someone who has trouble paying the loans completes their payments, they are not allowed to get another payday loan for 90 days.

If someone borrows five different times over 180 days and has no trouble making payments, that person has to wait 60 days for a new loan.

The bill sets a 36 percent cap on interest charges. It also creates a database to track loans and borrowers. The database would start next year.

If you don’t think that Payday Lenders are like the mafia, you will after you read this article that was published in the Daily Press.

Click to read the Daily Press Article

The Greater Wards Corner Partnership has been at the forefront of the battle to rid Virginia of predatory lenders. Many thanks go to Elyse Kalfus for her tireless efforts in keeping us informed.