Payday lending may end in Arizona

PHOENIX, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Election Day may have spelled the end of payday lending in Arizona, a spokesman for the industry says.

Voters in Arizona rejected Proposition 200, which would have permitted payday lenders to charge as much as 391 percent for loans and extend their licensing in the state indefinitely, The Arizona Republic reported Monday.

Without payday lending licenses, the limit for interest rates consumers can be charged is 36 percent on an annualized basis, the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions said.

"We are still absorbing the loss and trying to figure out the best tactic to take to preserve the business," said Stan Barnes, a spokesman for Yes on 200, a group representing payday lending businesses.

"There is a lot at stake," Barnes said. "It's not every day we eliminate an entire industry."

Barnes said 2,500 in Arizona will lose their jobs if the industry is shut down.

Critics had claimed the industry preyed on the poor, the newspaper said.