Payday lenders like Advance America are pushing hard to lure away customers from traditional banks. The effort is getting a boost from the industry’s loan crunch, especially for borrowers with blemished credit, and toughened regulation of fees and interest rates charged by the nation’s 7,760 banks and savings institutions.

This is from Jessica-Silver Greenberg, “Payday Lenders Go Hunting,” Wall Street Journal, December 24. Her piece is a couple of notches above the usual reporting on “payday lending” because she puts it in context, helping the reader understand why some customers now find payday loans more attractive than they did. The reason, as noted above: the toughened regulation of the banking sector. The whole article, which is not long, is worth reading.

HT to Walter Grinder.