Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen
Podcasts Take Two
Native American payday loans under scrutiny by federal agency
solid orange rectangular banner
()
Apr 30, 2013
Listen 4:29
Native American payday loans under scrutiny by federal agency
Another line of business which doesn't smell quite right to federal officials: Native American payday loans. A growing number of Indian nations have been getting into the business, known for quick cash and high interest rates.
Richard Cordray, nominee for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, testifies at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on March 12, 2013 in Washington, DC.
Richard Cordray, nominee for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, testifies at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on March 12, 2013 in Washington, DC.
(
T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images
)

Another line of business which doesn't smell quite right to federal officials: Native American payday loans. A growing number of Indian nations have been getting into the business, known for quick cash and high interest rates.

Another line of business which doesn't smell quite right to federal officials: Native American payday loans. A growing number of Indian nations have been getting into the business, known for quick cash and high interest rates.

They claim it's a great way to raise money for local reservations, but the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau worries tribes may be taking advantage of their sovereign status.

Here with more is David Lazarus, business columnist for the Los Angeles Times.