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The Effects of Usury Laws: Evidence from the Online Loan Market

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  • Oren Rigbi

    (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)

Abstract

Usury laws cap the interest rates that lenders can charge. Using data from Prosper.com (an online lending marketplace), I show how interest rate caps affect: 1) the probability that a loan is funded; 2) the amount a borrower requests; 3) the interest rate at which a loan is funded; and 4) loan repayments. The key to my empirical strategy is that there initially was substantial variability in states' interest rate caps, according to which Prosper borrowers from different states faced caps ranging from 6 to 36%. A behind-the-scenes change in loan origination, however, suddenly increased the cap to 36% in all but one state. This change, which was not pre-announced, creates \treatment" states where caps rose and a few control states where caps remained unchanged. I find that higher interest rate caps increase the probability that a loan will be funded, especially if the borrower is risky and previously was just \outside the money." I do not find, however, that borrowers change the loan amounts they request or that their probability of default rises. On the other hand, the interest rate paid rises slightly, probably because online lending is substantially, yet imperfectly, integrated with the general credit market.

Suggested Citation

  • Oren Rigbi, 2012. "The Effects of Usury Laws: Evidence from the Online Loan Market," Working Papers 1204, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bgu:wpaper:1204
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Hold the Check: Overdrafts, Fee Caps, and Financial Inclusion
      by Blog Author in Liberty Street Economics on 2021-06-30 11:02:00

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    Cited by:

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    2. J. Brandon Bolen & Gregory Elliehausen & Thomas W. Miller, 2023. "Credit for me but not for thee: the effects of the Illinois rate cap," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(3), pages 397-420, December.
    3. Rajkamal Iyer & Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Erzo F. P. Luttmer & Kelly Shue, 2016. "Screening Peers Softly: Inferring the Quality of Small Borrowers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(6), pages 1554-1577, June.
    4. Lukongo, Onyumbe Enumbe & Miller, Thomas, 2017. "Adverse Consequences of the Binding Constitutional Interest Rate Cap in the State of Arkansas," Working Papers 07446, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    5. Dasgupta, Kabir & Mason, Brenden J., 2020. "The effect of interest rate caps on bankruptcy: Synthetic control evidence from recent payday lending bans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Jennifer L. Dlugosz & Brian T. Melzer & Donald P. Morgan, 2021. "Who Pays the Price? Overdraft Fee Ceilings and the Unbanked," Staff Reports 973, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    7. Laura Marcela Capera Romero, 2021. "The Effects of Usury Ceilings on Consumers Welfare: Evidence from the Microcredit Market in Colombia," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-055/IV, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Juan Sebastian Cubillos-Rocha & Juliana Gamboa-Arbelaez & Luis Fernando Melo-Velandia & Sara Restrepo-Tamayo & Maria Jose Roa-Garcia & Mauricio Villamizar-Villegas, 2021. "Effects of interest rate caps on credit access," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 117-139, December.
    9. JJ. Cao-Alvira & LG Deidda, 2013. "Financial liberalization and the development of microcredit," Working Paper CRENoS 201324, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    10. Capera Romero, Laura, 2020. "Essays on competition, regulation and innovation in the banking industry," Other publications TiSEM 5185bee5-c023-4219-90db-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Tristan Caballero-Montes, 2023. "Integrating market conditions into regulatory decisions on microfinance interest rates: does competition matter?," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 201-232, June.
    12. Freedman, Seth & Jin, Ginger Zhe, 2017. "The information value of online social networks: Lessons from peer-to-peer lending," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 185-222.
    13. Alexander W. Butler & Jess Cornaggia & Umit G. Gurun, 2017. "Do Local Capital Market Conditions Affect Consumers’ Borrowing Decisions?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(12), pages 4175-4187, December.
    14. Avi Goldfarb & Shane M. Greenstein & Catherine E. Tucker, 2015. "Introduction to "Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy"," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Analysis of the Digital Economy, pages 1-17, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Madeira, Carlos, 2019. "The impact of interest rate ceilings on households’ credit access: Evidence from a 2013 Chilean legislation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 166-179.
    16. Zaiyan Wei & Mingfeng Lin, 2017. "Market Mechanisms in Online Peer-to-Peer Lending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(12), pages 4236-4257, December.
    17. Danisewicz, Piotr & Elard, Ilaf, 2023. "The real effects of financial technology: Marketplace lending and personal bankruptcy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    18. Yinghui Chen & Xiaolin Gong & Chien-Chi Chu & Yang Cao, 2018. "Access to the Internet and Access to Finance: Theory and Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-38, July.
    19. Yingxiu Zhao & Wei Zhang & Xiangyu Kong, 2019. "Dynamic Cross-Correlations between Participants’ Attentions to P2P Lending and Offline Loan in the Private Lending Market," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2019, pages 1-8, December.
    20. Onyumbe Enumbe Ben Lukongo & Thomas W. Miller, 2022. "The cost of rate caps: Evidence from Arkansas," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 881-909, December.
    21. Jiaying Deng & Hossein Ghasemkhani & Yong Tan & Arvind K Tripathi, 2023. "Actions speak louder than words: Imputing users’ reputation from transaction history," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(4), pages 1096-1111, April.
    22. Seth M. Freedman & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2011. "Learning by Doing with Asymmetric Information: Evidence from Prosper.com," NBER Working Papers 16855, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. María José Roa & Alejandra Villegas & Ignacio Garrón, 2020. "Effects of interest rate caps on microcredit: evidence from a natural experiment in Bolivia," Development Research Working Paper Series 03/2020, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    24. Miller, Sarah, 2015. "Information and default in consumer credit markets: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 45-70.
    25. Chen, Xiao & Guo, Gangxing, 2024. "Air pollution and online lender behavior: Evidence from Chinese peer-to-peer lending," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Person-to-Person Lending; Consumer Credit; Usury Laws; Financial Market Regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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