A new California state law passed this year capped interest rates for some consumer loans at about 37% a year. But OppLoans is charging 160% on a typical loan in California, according to its website, using a partnership with a Utah bank to continue selling in the state despite the new rules.
“A few banks are making [state consumer] protections moot…[and] regulators haven’t stopped them,” said Alex Horowitz, a senior research officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit organization that has studied subprime lending. “This could do real harm to millions of families’ financial health."