May 2021 Update

Call to Action: Contact your House Member!

As the conference committee meetings continue at the Capitol, now is the time to contact your House member. Share your support of establishing a 36% annual percentage rate ceiling on payday loans, as outlined in provisions in the House Omnibus Commerce Policy and Finance Bill (HF 1031, Article 4, Sections 2 to 5 and 9 to 10), and ask them to let their leadership know that this issue is important to them.

If you have questions, then please contact Sara at sara@exoduslending.org or at 612-615-0067 ext. 2.

Growing as an Organization

While we continue to push for a 36% interest rate cap, Exodus Lending remains committed to our mission of increasing financial stability for Minnesotans and are actively pursuing ways to improve and grow our organization. Firstly, we are currently working through the Charities Review Council’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Toolkit. With this process, we will engage our participants, staff, board, volunteers, partners, and donors to ensure our people reflect the community’s diversity, our processes foster a culture of inclusion, and our decision-making advances equity. 

Additionally, we are exploring becoming a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). To that end, we recently applied for a technical assistance grant to support this exploration. CDFI certification will equip us with the financial resources to develop and sustainably provide new products. All of these initiatives mean that when (not if) we successfully pass an interest rate cap and predatory loans are illegal in our state, Exodus Lending will be ready to expand our offerings and meet the financial needs of Minnesotans.  

Save the Date

Our hope is to gather in-person safely on July 29th to celebrate Exodus Lending’s continued success at our summer fundraiser. Therefore, stay tuned for more details, including any event changes if large gatherings remain unsafe.

Predatory Lending in the News

In case you missed it, here are some of the latest news items on predatory lending:

• As reported in the Los Angeles Times, researchers have found that Black and Latinx customers are overrepresented in ads from payday lenders. Yet, they are rarely featured in ads from mainstream banks.
• Mother Jones details the efforts by hundreds of consumer advocates to overturn the “true lender” rule that allows payday lenders to evade state-level interest limits. This week, the Senate voted to repeal it.
• In a recent report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that “consumers who use a payday, auto title, or pawn loan in one year are often still using that type of loan a year later.”

Lastly, Exodus Lending’s office remains closed. Our team is working remotely and can be reached by phone at (612) 615-0067 or by email at info@exoduslending.org.

Exodus Lending E-Newsletter: May 2021