Sunday afternoon special on those Yakuza cash companies

[cstaylor]

Anyone watching channel six right now? They're doing a roundtable on those cash companies that lend money at usury interest rates... I'm surprised it has taken people this long to put these three things together:
- Banking crisis caused by banks making improper loans to Yakuza-backed construction and entertainment companies. Yakuza refuse to repay loans, laundering money to other countries or into other businesses. Banks fail.
- 5 to 10 years later, these cash companies "conveniently" have enough cash to loan to those without any decent credit. Why? Because these Yakuza-based companies have the muscle to make people pay back, and the cash was free to begin with.
- Rather than face the Yakuza and their minions, the Japanese who stupidly took these "loans" commit horrible crimes (insurance fraud, theft/murder, etc...) in order to pay back the principle and the ballooning interest payments (39%?!?)

What are the Japanese paying taxes for? Get those damn government regulators in there (armed if necessary) and break up these obvious criminal organizations.

[cstaylor]

Guess whose commercial aired during the break? Promise Cash Company.

[Steve Bildermann]

The funny thing is that the Banks *now* charge interest on loans at rates that were considered loan sharking 20 years ago.

If you took out a standard 5 year business loan from a bank twenty years ago it was normal to pay back at between 6-10%. Loan sharks were sqeezing people for 20-30% and *going to jail* for doing it.

Bank of America in the US and Midland Bank in the UK now charge 22% or more on similar loans if less than $20,000.

I asked how much surety I would have to provide to get something less than 15%.

The loan guy said 'everything you own'

[tokyojoe]

Has anyone noticed the recent commericals for one of these `banks`? I forget the name but the campaign features a guy on a date. The girl asks if he`ll pay for dinner or buy her something. He says yes and then it turns out to be really expensive. Solution? Go borrow money at usurious rates. So the message is go into hock to buy stuff for a woman. Really evil.

An acquaintance had a meeting with one of these companies. He told me the president had a button on his desk. Whenever he pushed it a secretary would come crawling in on hands and knees to ask what he wanted.

[Steve Bildermann]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/4024607.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp