Ohio short term lender proposes bill to raise loan rates

Financial services provider Cash America recently proposed raising the Ohio state cap on pawn loans from 5 percent a month to 20 percent, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The bill was drafted by the Legislative Service Committee on behalf of the company. The short term lender also proposed a way to limit competition between pawn shops by introducing a law that would ban pawnbrokers from operating within two miles of each other. According to Cash America lobbyist Jason Paduchik, the company made an effort to include consumer-friendly elements in the proposed changes, such as increasing the minimum amount of time that items must be held before sale in a bid to increase the chances of law enforcement identifying stolen property. Additionally, pawn loans belonging to members of the military would be suspended for the duration of the time the holder is on active duty. Cash America, along with its Cashland Financial Services arm, holds 120 of Ohio's 300 pawnbrokers licenses. Last month, the company broke its 52-week shares-trading high by trading at $50.52.