A study by the St. Louis Better Business Bureau has found that more than 90 Missouri nursing homes regularly lend money to their employees at very high interest rates. The money is loaned to employees on payday, with the loan amount plus interest and fees deducted from their next paychecks.
According to an article in the August 17 St. Louis Business Journal, the state allows lenders to charge up to a 1,950 percent annual percentage rate on two-week payday loans, the highest allowed among the 43 states that have either banned or set APR caps on payday loans.
“The study also found that Missouri’s lax laws have attracted several out-of-state lenders, including 34 online payday loan companies, and that the average cost of payday loans to borrowers with five or more loans in Missouri is $317 million, second only to California,” the article says.
The bureau sent copies of its study to all Missouri legislators.
