David Thomas

M.L. Schultze Ohio’s overhaul of its payday lending laws will be fully implemented in April. At a conference in Washington Monday, it was applauded as a national model that ensures the short-term loans will continue to be offered without gouging consumers. During the discussion organized by the Pew Charitable Trusts, advocates for the overhaul said they battled more than three-dozen lobbyists for the payday lending industry who wanted to maintain the status quo, including interest rates and fees that averaged nearly 600 percent.