News
Stories and news from Exodus Lending and the financial industry
From Hardship to Freedom
Minnesota congregation stands up to payday lending When a payday lender opened on the block of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in 2012, members had some questions. “We noticed that more of these businesses were popping up, and we were concerned about their impact,” said Jay Carlson, pastor of Holy Trinity. Read more
Freedom From The Debt Trap
Short term loans and high interest rates have long been a problem for some people in South Dakota, as well as others across the country. Many are rallying to call on their local legislators to cap payday interest rates at an affordable rate. Now, a Minneapolis church is joining that fight. Monthly bills were piling Read more Freedom From The Debt Trap
Drowning in Debt
A March 2016 report by Human Impact Partners and ISAIAH called “Drowning in Debt: A Health Impact Assessment of How Payday Loan Reforms Improve the Health of Minnesota’s Most Vulnerable” focuses on research which shows the negative effects of payday loans. Exodus Lending’s co-founder, Anna Brelje and interim director, Meghan Olsen Biebighauser, were members of the Read more Drowning in Debt
Exodus Lending is Open For Business!
When payday lenders opened up in their Minneapolis neighborhood, Holy Trinity Lutheran church got concerned. More importantly, they got educated and they got active. Holy Trinity has been working with JRLC and Minnesotans for Fair Lending to bring attention to the debt trap of payday lending and seek stronger regulation of the predatory industry. Seeking Read more Exodus Lending is Open For Business!
Tyren’s Story
Tyren McGruder, center, is grateful for financial help from Exodus Lending. He is shown with Meghan Olsen Biebighauser, Exodus’ (former) interim director, and Adam Rao, its founding director, now an MBA student at the University of Minnesota. Tyren McGruder, a working-class single dad, has emerged from the debt trap of payday loans thanks to Holy Read more Tyren’s Story
Sarah's Story
One missed payment of $200 became $400 plus late fees. That’s the reality that Sarah K. quickly had to grapple with after taking out her first payday loan. When Sarah came to Exodus Lending she had been in the payday loan cycle for about a year. There was no big crisis in her life but she reported that because Read more Sarah's Story
Brian & Tammie's Story
“Your wife has a broken neck,” those are the terrible words Brian F. was confronted with the day his wife got into a serious car accident. Up until that moment, Brian and his wife Tammie had shared all their financial responsibilities together. They bought a house together and they paid house payments and all other bills together, Read more Brian & Tammie's Story