60 Oregon payday lenders close shop

PORTLAND, Ore., July 9 (UPI) -- At least 60 Oregon payday lenders, which typically charged 520 percent for loans, have closed after a law capped rates at 36 percent, a state agency says.

"I'm out of business," Luanne Stoltz, a former math schoolteacher who owned two payday stores in Portland, told The (Portland) Oregonian.

Check 'n Go Inc., a Mason, Ohio, payday lender, will close its 21 Oregon stores because of the new regulations, a spokesman said.

Advance America, Cash Advance, of Spartanburg, S.C., the No. 1 U.S. payday loan company, has not decided if it will keep its 45 Oregon stores open, investor relations Director Jamie Fulmer said.

More than 200 payday lenders remain, doing business under the Legislature's new regulations, the newspaper said.

The new law lets payday lenders charge an origination fee of $10 for every $100 loaned, though no more than $30 for a loan of any amount.

Loans must be for at least 31 days. Lenders can charge 36 percent annual interest, or $3.60 per $100 in addition to the origination fee.

This adds up to $13.60 per $100, which amounts to an annual interest rate of about 154 percent for a 31-day loan.

The law also requires a seven-day break between loans.