Opponents of payday lending quickly gained a prominent ally: Holly Petraeus, wife of retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, now the CIA manager.
In 2006, the Department of Defense described the lenders as “predatory” and a risk to security that is national. Payday lending “undermines military readiness, harms the morale of troops and their loved ones, and enhances the price of fielding an all-volunteer combat force,” the department reported, noting that service users had been two times as prone to fall target as civilians.
Congress passed a legislation capping rates of interest at 36 per cent on payday advances meant to U.S.