Jun
Bay area has 32 of California’s significantly more than 2,000 pay day loan outlets. Picture by Jason Winshell/Public Press
COMPANY: Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse among biggest backers of lucrative low-finance companies
Even while the Occupy bay area encampment in the base of marketplace Street indicated outrage at big banking institutions and high finance, it stayed company as always at a few of the city’s less glamorous financial establishments.
High-interest, unsecured “payday” loans are plentiful at 32 establishments along marketplace Street as well as in low-income communities across the town. A lot of people with bank records qualify.
These stark storefronts — where hard-pressed customers fall into line to talk to clerks behind Plexiglas windows and make an application for high-cost payday advances — may appear unconnected to Wall Street. (more…)