Attorney General Patricia Madrid - Shark Hunter and Hero

N.M. Attorney General Patricia Madrid is a hero. She has taken on the powerful to help the unfortunate. Madrid has made giant steps in the right direction to end predatory lending. Payday and car title lenders can be found on almost every corner in most cities in N.M. Old gas stations and Taco Bells are turned into easy lender outlets. They are usually prominently placed, extremely visible (ugly), with large garish signs and “friendly” names like Crazy Sam’s or Fast Bucks. These “businesses” prey on the elderly and the poor, lending money to people they know cannot repay in a timely manner. With Madrid’s action, these loan sharks may be an endangered species.


On Wednesday, A.G. Madrid issued Proposed Rules and Regulations Governing the Extension of Credit for Small Loans. These regulations will cap the small loan interest rate at an annual rate of 54%, the same rate to which pawn brokers are held. Since the first of this year she has issued public service announcements warning people about the predatory loan sharks lurking on every corner. I suspect that during that time she has been researching how to use the power of her office to put a collar on the small loan business. It looks like she has found what she needed in the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act at NMSA 1978 Section 57-12-13 (1967).

This is a benefit to all N.M. citizens, not just to those being victimized by taking loans. Many of these businesses are owned by out of state corporations and the money they take in is drained from our state’s economy. Since this is a direct service and the employees do not make much more than minimum wage, there is no positive benefit to the communities where they are located. Even the ones that are locally owned hurt the economy because they reduce consumer spending power. Patricia Madrid should be given the full support of the citizens of N.M. and be commended for her efforts.