炙手可热的美国发薪日贷款

U.S.Payday Loans:A Novel Form of Credit But at What Price?

发薪日贷款(payday loans),即折价购买延期兑付的个人支票,是目前美国一项非常热销的业务。对中低收入阶层来说,发薪日贷款已经在很大程度上取代了当铺,成为重要的贷款来源。发薪日贷款的年利率通常要高出普通消费贷款几百倍,因此从事该项业务的放款人常常被认为是贪得无厌。那么,这种"剥削产品"何以能这么快地增长?本文为本刊美国特约蝙辑杰姆斯·巴茨博士(James Barth)的荐稿,作者分别任职于联邦存款保险公司和科罗拉多州立大学。

Payday lending,the business of buying personal checks at a discount for deferred deposit,is a booming business in the United States.The rapid growth of pay- day lending was a source of alternative credit for many low-and-middle-income individuals.The annual rate of interest of payday loans is much higher than the regular one's.How can such an“exploit product”en- joy such rapid growth?