Bill To Restrict Payday Lending In SC Advances

By JIM DAVENPORT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A leading lender for the payday lending industry says legislation that advanced Thursday will doom the business in South Carolina as it ties borrowing to income and forces waiting periods between loans.

"I think it will make it very difficult for any operator to continue operating in South Carolina," said Jamie Fulmer, a spokesman for Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc. The Spartanburg-based industry leader has seen its business shut down by legislation in other states, including North Carolina and Georgia.

The bill "places these arbitrary limits on consumers' ability to access these products," Fulmer said. With the economy in the tank and South Carolina running the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation, Fulmer said that will be bad for consumers who need emergency cash.

But consumer advocates and bill supporters say emergency cash loans can too easily turn into perpetual borrowing to simply refinance a loan and that lenders rely on repeated fee payments on loan rollovers for profits.

The bill sent to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee Thursday clamps down on that, as well as on the maximum amount of a loan.