ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- New York's financial regulator has given payday lenders two weeks to stop overcharging the state's residents for loans, a letter from his office shows.
The letter was sent to 35 lending operations. It includes a cease-and-desist order concerning loans that exceed the state's cap for lending rates, which is 25 percent, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Frequently, consumers are often charged an annual rate of more than 500 percent, the Times reported.
When the cap was put into place, payday lenders simply dropped New York state as an address and moved online, where they could reach vastly larger audiences and, they thought, avoid state regulators, the Times said.
In recent years, however, 15 states, including New York, have put caps on lending rates.
"Illegal payday lenders swoop in and prey on struggling families when they're at their most vulnerable -- hitting them with sky-high interest rates and hidden fees," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Benjamin Lawsky, the state's superintendent of financial services, took an extra step, however, writing to 117 banks that operate with payday lenders, asking them to help end illegal lending.
"Banks have proven to be -- even if unintentionally -- an essential cog in the vicious machinery that these purveyors of predatory loans use to do an end-run around New York law," Lawsky said in the letter.
Payday lenders frequently portray themselves as consumer advocates willing to work with people who have otherwise been shut out by a callous financial services industry.
"Like many consumers nationwide, New York residents are looking for more affordable credit options than those currently offered in their state and are increasingly looking to the convenience of Internet for them," Peter Barden, a spokesman for the Online Lenders Alliance, said in a statement.
"Rather than restricting consumer choice, state officials should be focused on finding a federal solution to ensure consumers have access to the credit options they need and are demanding."
