Florida considers upping consumer loan interest rate to 36%

TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers are considering a proposal that would allow interest rates as high as 36% on consumer-finance loans, with supporters saying it would increase access to loans and opponents arguing it would hurt poor people.

The House State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday voted 10-3 to approve the bill (HB 1267), which would replace a system that includes maximum interest rates of 30%. A Senate version of the bill (SB 580) began moving forward in late March.

House sponsor Juan Alfonso Fernandez-Barquin, R-Miami-Dade County, said the state has many “unbanked” residents who have difficulty getting loans. He said that leads them to turn to online lenders who charge far-higher rates than consumer-finance businesses in Florida.

Fe r n a n d e z - B a r q u i n said allowing a maximum interest rate to 36% would broaden “the base of risk” for finance companies, allowing more people to qualify for loans.

“There’s a whole segment of the population right now that wouldn’t qualify for these loans right now,” Fernandez-Barquin said. “If we increase the interest rates, they can qualify for them.”

But Rep. Russell Meyer, executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, described a 36% interest rate as “usury” that would take advantage of poor people who need help paying living expenses.

“What this does is charge people rent on living, rent on breathing, rent on feeding the children,” Meyer told the House panel. “And every religious tradition has considered that immoral.”

Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, described the rate as “predatory.”

But Scott Jenkins, a lobbyist who is executive director of the Florida Financial Services Association, pushed back against the “predatory” assertion, telling House members it is “a complete misnomer to get you guys fired up, basically.”

Under current law, Florida has a three-tier system of interest rates for consumer-finance loans. Companies can charge 30% annual interest on the first $3,000 of principal amounts, 24% on amounts between $3,000 and $4,000 and 18% on amounts between $4,000 and $25,000.

The bill would set an across-the-board maximum annual 36% rate.