BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — State regulators have accused Moneytree Inc. of skirting new consumer laws that limit a borrower to eight payday loans in a 12-month period.
The Department of Financial Institutions on Wednesday issued a temporary cease-and-desist order to the Renton-based payday lender.
The Kitsap Sun reports that the state ordered Moneytree to stop allowing borrowers to use and then “rescind” small loans and stick to an eight-loan limit. Rescinding the loans allows a borrower to have a clean slate.
Dennis Bassford, Moneytree’s chief executive, says he doesn’t believe the practice violates the new law but that the company has stopped the practice. He says Moneytree and DFI are “just interpreting the statute differently.”
