In late 2010, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ordered H&R Block’s lender, HSBC, to quit making refund loans. Analysts estimate that around one million customers took out refund loans last year. Consumer advocates are keeping a wary watch on this new incarnation of refund loans. The new loans appear to be “very different from the bad, old refund loans of 10 years ago,” said Chi Chi Wu, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. “It’s almost impossible for someone to comparison-shop.”And for those who need money fast, refund loans are powerful draws.

Source: New York Times January 15, 2017 20:38 UTC