Attorney General's 2007 Photo Gallery
Human face put on problem of payday loans in Missouri
February 16, 2007 The story of Chris Rose and his family helped put a human face on the problem of payday loans in Missouri. Mr. Rose spoke at a news conference in Kansas City on Feb. 16 about the spiral of debt he and his family have faced since health problems forced him to turn to payday lenders a few years ago.
Attorney General Nixon, pictured with Rose, repeated his call for payday loan reform at the news conference. Nixon was joined by state Rep. John Burnett of Kansas City, who is sponsoring a bill (HB237) that would limit renewals and place caps on interest rates. A recent report from the Missouri Division of Finance showed that the 2.8 million payday loans taken out by Missourians last year carried an average of 422 percent APR.
Also speaking out for payday loan reform at the news conference were Michael Halterman, CEO of Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph Inc.; and Larry Weber, executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference.
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