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The Wells Fargo Flex Loan is Anything But Flexible

Wells Fargo’s Flex Loan program is a labyrinth of unclear eligibility requirements and a baffling case of vanishing funds.

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Albuquerque Journal: A public bank could crowd out community-based financial institutions

The 2022 passage of House Bill 132, which set a stringent cap of 36% on interest rates for consumer loans, is having its intended and significant repercussions on New Mexico’s financial landscape. This was no accident: by restricting the interest rates that small-dollar lenders can charge, the rate cap effectively marginalized an entire segment of […]

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Albuquerque Journal: The myth of big-bank small-dollar loans

In response to Fred Nathan’s (July 30) op-ed praising New Mexico’s efforts to end predatory lending, I must assert that the celebratory tone is premature and misguided. Two significant studies conducted by the Southwest Public Policy Institute — “No Loan For You!” published in March 2023 and “No Loan For You, Too!” published in June […]

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Pew Charitable Trust Scraps “Consumer Finance” Project After SPPI Debunks Pew’s Findings

Albuquerque, NM — The Pew Charitable Trusts has “archived” their Consumer Finance project and reassigned Alex Horrowitz as Project Manager of their Housing Policy Initiative. Earlier this year, the Pew Charitable Trusts released a study that claimed that six of the eight largest banks now offer affordable small loans. In another study, Horowitz wrote: “Pew’s […]

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Safeguarding Access to Lending Services for Unbanked and Low-Income Americans

Last week, the Southwest Public Policy Institute joined Carrie Sheffield from the Independent Women’s Forum, Tirzah Duren from the American Consumer Institute, and Ann Petros from the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions for the panel discussion “Protecting Lending Services For Unbanked, Low-Income Americans”, part of IWF’s Center for Economic Opportunity Policy Chat series. In […]

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Wake Gardner Chosen as Recipient of the Marianne T. Anderson Memorial Fellowship

The latest recipient of the Marianne T. Anderson Memorial Fellowship has been announced.

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RealClearMarkets: Need a $200 Loan? You’re Mostly Outta Luck

Originally published at realclearmarkets.com on June 21, 2023 In New Mexico, an interest rate cap on specialized emergency loans when into effect in January. Since then, big-bank promoters have endorsed the small-dollar short-term loan products offered by U.S. Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Huntington Bank, and others as alternatives. Recently, those same activists have thrown in support for […]

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SPPI President, Patrick Brenner, to Speak at Independent Women’s Forum Panel

We are thrilled to announce that Patrick Brenner, president of the Southwest Public Policy Institute (SPPI), will be representing SPPI as a distinguished panelist at the Independent Women’s Forum. The panel will test a simple, powerful idea: how do we ensure fair lending policies for vulnerable Americans; and will bring together experts to address the […]

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Report: No Loan for You, Too!

The unintended consequences of price controls on consumer access to credit.

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SPPI Takes Vegas: A High-Stakes Discussion on Emergency Lending

SPPI shares insights on the impact of the war on specialized emergency lending at AFSA’s conference in Las Vegas.