The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a new report on payday lending at a public hearing in Nashville. The agency is nearing the release of new rules to govern the industry. Their report argues that "short term" loans are usually not short term at all, but more often renewed again and again as consumers dig themselves into deeper sinkholes of debt. Half of all loans, for example, come as part of sequences of 10 or more renewed loans — and in one out of five loans, borrowers end up paying more in fees than the initial amount they borrowed. It is not clear what form the upcoming CFPB regulations will take; the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits imposing usury caps, but the CFPB may eliminate lump-sum payday loans or require the loans be modified to incorporate more affordable installment plans.