Consumer advocates say the payday lending reforms instituted in various states have failed to adequately address the problems of borrowers. For example, under Florida’s payday reform law, borrowers are limited to one outstanding loan at a time, may not roll over a loan and must wait 24 hours after paying off a loan before taking out another. But lenders have found ways around each of these provisions. They have circumvented the rollover bans by allowing consumers to repay their existing loan and take out another the next day. It is also possible for customers to avoid the cooling-off period entirely by simply borrowing from a different lender. Suzanne Martindale, an attorney with Consumers Union, says meaningful reform will likely require greater national oversight from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

As "crowdfunding" financing platforms grow more prevalent on the web, it is easier than ever for merchants to solicit funds from customers — but is it a good idea? After nine years in Brooklyn, the Chocolate Room, a specialty food shop, experienced a crippling rise in rent. The cafe’s owners, Naomi Josepher and Jon Payson, reluctantly decided to abandon their space and begin figuring out how to finance a $200,000 relocation. They settled on launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Word spread quickly and by the third day, the shop had more than $1,000 pledged toward its goal of $40,000. Then the resistance began. “There’s something about asking your customers to help fund your expansion that just feels a little ... wrong,” posted a commenter on one community website. “Cool or not cool?”

Senate Banking Committee leaders Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have announced an agreement on legislation to wind down government-owned mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the plan the financiers would be replaced with a new government reinsurer called the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. The senators also plan to replace affordable housing goals that Congress had given Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with new housing-related funds to ensure the availability of affordable rental properties. To create space for community banks in the system, the senators said they would seek to establish a "mutual cooperative jointly owned by small lenders" to offer a cash window for eligible loans while allowing the institutions to retain mortgage servicing rights.

Chicago-based First American Bank surprised banking analysts with an unusally public debit card fraud announcement released after 18 days of frustration. Their investigation began Feb. 10, when the bank received 11 fraud complaints in one day from checking account cardholders. First American determined that the customers had all experienced fraud right after using their debit cards in Chicago taxis. The bank started shutting down debit cards, issuing new ones and informing customers. At the same time, the bank was trying to get MasterCard and Bank of America to shut down card acceptance in cabs, stop the breach or at least explain what it knew about the problem, but made little headway.