On November 17th, IABG co-hosted, in conjunction with the FDIC, State Treasurer’s Office and the Woodstock Institute, a symposium on the opportunities and challenges in offering alternative small dollar loans through mainstream financial institutions in Illinois. The need for short term, small dollar credit among low- and moderate-income persons exists, and the present payday lending [...]
In December 2009, IABG co-sponsored a webinar on the topic of Universal Voluntary Retirement Accounts (UVRA). Over 100 attendees from across the country listened to national experts-including Dean Baker, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Ted Boettner, Executive Director, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, Gary Burris, Senior Policy Associate, Economic Opportunity Institute, [...]
The last few months witnessed several developments in the struggle to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. To recap, on July 9th H.R. 3126, the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2009, was introduced in the House of Representatives. Hearings on the bill began shortly thereafter and an intense debate ensued. The arguments continued almost to [...]
The FDIC recently released its 2009 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. The nationwide survey analyzes the quality and prevalence of unbanked and underbanked households, defined respectively as households in which no one has a checking or savings account and households in which at least one person has a checking or savings account but [...]
As the 2010 legislative session begins, IABG will again lend its support to the ongoing efforts of the Monsignor Egan Campaign for Payday Loan Reform. The campaign has been working for over a decade to protect consumers from ensnaring, usurious features of payday loan products. While many other states have forsaken detailed compromises with payday [...]