[Baltimore Sun] Small businesses need protection from predatory lending | READER COMMENTARY
Read Time:1 Minute, 11 Second
I followed in my grandparents footsteps to start a small business here in Maryland. But when I took out a loan I thought I could trust, the lack of regulatory protections in our state put me at risk of losing the business I’ve been building for more than a decade. The financing company quoted their pricing in terms that didn’t give an accurate sense of the price.
While lenders have been required to disclose the APR on consumer loans since 1968, no such transparency is required when lending to small businesses in Maryland. It turns out that financing companies are now hawking business loans with undisclosed APRs that can reach 300%. And many of these companies use aggressive marketing tactics, particularly targeting business owners of color like me. I have to field at least a dozen calls, texts and emails a day, preventing me from focusing on my business.
House Bill 574 would help fix this by establishing basic price transparency standards for business financing, like businesses already benefit from in New York and California. But it is being held up in the House Economic Matters Committee. (“General Assembly faces budget battles over tax plan for schools, transportation,” March 22)
High-price financing companies killed the bill last year. This year, it deserves a vote.
—Karida Collins, Baltimore
Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0