Polo Rocha is a Washington D.C.-based reporter who covers consumer finance and national banking trends. He previously covered the Federal Reserve at S&P Global Market Intelligence and state politics at WisPolitics.com. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a master's in finance degree from Johns Hopkins University.
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A 2019 state law limits annual interest rates on many loans to 36%, but some high-cost lenders have found a way to continue operating in California by partnering with banks. Now Democratic legislators want the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to take action.
May 16 -
The Federal Reserve’s forceful moves to fight inflation are resetting expectations about how quickly banks will need to start raising their deposit rates.
May 13 -
During the pandemic, consumer lenders have found it easier to collect payments because the federal student loan moratorium has made many borrowers more liquid. A plan for blanket forgiveness reportedly under consideration by President Biden could sustain that trend.
May 3 -
The move away from the scandal-plagued London interbank offered rate is going smoothly, according to a new survey of lenders and corporate borrowers. But many customers still face operational challenges ahead of a mid-2023 deadline for switching older loans.
March 20 -
The company has filed a lawsuit against the banking commissioner for threatening to end its partnership with a bank that enables consumer loans to exceed the state’s 36% interest rate cap. OppFi’s argument: Its bank partner is the true lender.
March 10 -
Lawmakers in New Mexico recently approved a stringent rate limit, and similar efforts are underway in Rhode Island and Michigan. The state-level actions are among the "numerous headwinds" facing high-cost lenders, one analyst said.
March 1 -
The Silicon Valley fintech expects to make $1.5 billion in auto loans this year after implementing key elements needed to achieve scale, said CEO David Girouard. The expansion comes as the automotive market continues to boom.
February 16 -
Only 12% of large and regional banks in the U.S. and Canada are running the scenario analyses that regulators are poised to recommend, according to a new survey. Observers say progress has been faster on the other side of the Atlantic, as European banks and their regulators have moved more quickly to develop a uniform system for quantifying risks.
February 3 -
The credit card issuer fielded questions about its fees two days after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a wide-ranging review of consumer charges. Executives said they would not take a big revenue hit even in the face of new limits.
January 28 -
The deal is the latest example of a mainstream bank buying a point-of-sale lender focused on financing home improvement projects.
January 19
