By Carter Dougherty
Bloomberg News
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to investigate claims that U.S. banks are offering products resembling so-called payday loans faulted by regulators for taking advantage of lower-income borrowers.
“The FDIC is deeply concerned about these continued reports,” Martin Gruenberg, the agency’s acting chairman, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, a Washington-based advocacy group. “Consequently, I have asked the FDIC’s Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection to make it a priority to investigate reports of banks engaging in payday lending and recommend further steps by the FDIC.”