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Debt

Debt Inc.

Lending and Collecting in America

Payday loans represent only one part of a high-cost lending industry that targets lower income consumers, trapping many in deep debt. When regulators and lawmakers try to crack down, lenders tweak their products to get around the law.

16 stories published since 2013

Newly Defanged, Top Consumer Protection Agency Drops Investigation of High-Cost Lender

by Paul Kiel,

Let The Game of Whack-A-Mole Begin: Feds Put Forward New Payday Rules

by Paul Kiel,

Defense Department Proposes Broad Ban on High-Cost Loans to Service Members

by Paul Kiel,

Insta-Loophole: In Florida, High-Cost Lender Skirts the Law

by Paul Kiel,

To Protect Service Members, Defense Department Plans Broad Ban on High-Cost Loans

by Paul Kiel,

High-Cost Lender World Finance Target of Federal Probe

by Paul Kiel,

Podcast: How a $1,000 Loan Ballooned into a $40,000 Debt

by Minhee Cho,

When Lenders Sue, Quick Cash Can Turn Into a Lifetime of Debt

by Paul Kiel,

To Dodge Law, High-Cost Lender Offers Cash for Free

by Paul Kiel,

How One State Succeeded in Restricting Payday Loans

by Paul Kiel,

Whack-a-Mole: How Payday Lenders Bounce Back When States Crack Down

by Paul Kiel,

The Payday Playbook: How High Cost Lenders Fight to Stay Legal

by Paul Kiel,

Senator Presses Consumer Bureau on Installment Lender World Finance

by Paul Kiel,

Map: Lenders Line up on Victory Drive

by Paul Kiel and Krista Kjellman Schmidt,

On Victory Drive, Soldiers Defeated by Debt

by Paul Kiel,

The 182 Percent Loan: How Installment Lenders Put Borrowers in a World of Hurt

by Paul Kiel,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

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Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

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Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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