Colorado

Almost eight years after Colorado enacted a payday law reform bill in 2010, payday lenders in Colorado continue to ensnare customers in a cycle of high-cost debt. Customers are drawn in by promises of easy cash. But as the high costs mount, the struggle to cover monthly expenses is compounded by the struggle to cover the cost of the payday...

Payday lending involves small‐dollar, high‐interest loans that trap consumers into a long‐term cycle of debt and fees. Payday lenders tout themselves as a needed service providing access to emergency credit. However, with weak underwriting and ability to repay standards, the payday loan model creates a debt trap that is easy to get into, but extremely difficult to escape. Each year...

With little difference across party lines, Coloradoans expressed their strong support for a proposal requiring debt buyers, companies that buy old debts and attempt to collect on them, provide appropriate documentation for the debts they collect and sue on. Survey respondents were asked this question: Would you support or oppose a law requiring debt buyers to provide documentation to the...

Students at Colorado’s for-profit colleges have less favorable outcomes in comparison to their peers at public and private non-profit institutions according to several key indicators, and the impact is greater on students of color. This report uses the data released from the US Department of Education (College Scorecard, September 2015) and compares public, private, and for-profit institutions (also referred to...

Six years after the Great Recession, American households continue to struggle with consumer debt. According to data reported by the Urban Institute, approximately 77 million Americans – 35 percent of adults with credit files – have debt in collections reported on their credit files. These Americans carry about $1,349 in debt. About 31 percent of Colorado residents have debt in...

Payday and car title loans are small-dollar, high-cost products that thrive on keeping consumers in a cycle of debt. With lenders doing essentially no underwriting, consumers find it easy to obtain these loans, often marketed as a solution to financial emergency. However, the unaffordability of the loan and the lenders extreme leverage over the borrowers – either through direct access...

Payday and car-title loans typically carry annual percentage rates (APR) of at least 300%. These high-cost loans are marketed as quick solutions to a financial emergency. Research demonstrates, however, that they frequently lead to debt that is nearly impossible to escape. In addition, these loans are related to a cascade of other financial consequences, such as increased overdraft fees, delinquency...

This memo summarizes the findings from a statewide poll of 501 likely 2016 general election voters in Colorado. Only those registered voters who had participated in a past general election were invited to participate, as well as any new registrants since the November 2012 election. View the polling questions and topline results. (PDF)

This color-coded map of payday stores by household reveals a disturbing pattern. Southern states are among the most targeted for these high-cost, low-dollar loans.