Submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee - Study on Non-Prime Lending & Criminal Interest Rate

Submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee Study on Non-Prime Lending & Criminal Interest Rate April 2024 Dear members of the Finance Committee, ACORN Canada would like to make a submission with reference to the study the Finance Committee is undertaking on the non-prime lending and criminal interest rate. [...] The CLA published claims in a report in which it says that lowering the interest rate of installment loans in Quebec, California and the UK led to borrowers losing access to credit and forced them to borrow money from loan sharks or illegal lenders. [...] This report captures the scale of illegal lenders in the country and CLA asserts that the massive growth in the illegal lenders is because of the regulatory tightening. [...] The conclusions of the joint report by the OACP and the CLA on the consequences of lowering the legal credit rate in Quebec are erroneous. [...] Higher amount of loans should carry much lower interest rates • Based on a survey of the interest rates and loan fees allowed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia for an unsecured 5-year installment loan of $10,000, a new report by the National Consumer Law Centre (NCLC) found that 42 states in the US and the District of Columbia cap the interest rate and fees for a $10,000 loan, with a m.