Bank Charter Would Have Enabled 100% APR Loans in Every State
WASHINGTON – Advocates at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) applauded news that predatory lender Enova International has dropped its proposed acquisition of Grasshopper Bank. NCLC was part of a broad coalition that urged Congress and federal banking regulators to reject the move, which would have allowed Enova to make 100% interest loans in all 50 states.
“Enova intended to use a national bank charter to make loans with 100% annual interest across the country that virtually every state forbids,” said Lauren Saunders, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “Triple-digit interest rate lenders should not be allowed to turn a national bank charter into a license to prey on people struggling to make ends meet.”
Enova’s press statement implied that the regulators that needed to approve its proposed acquisition of Grasshopper Bank, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, were not inclined to approve the application. Enova lamented the lack of “clear standards” for nonbanks that want to become banks and the impact of “outside advocacy.”
“Bank regulators have good reason to look critically at predatory lenders with enormous default rates,” Saunders said. “OppFi, which charges even more outrageous rates of up to 195% APR, should abandon its national bank aspirations, as well.”
On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee is considering a bill, H.R. 7866, that would protect Enova’s current business model of laundering its loans through out-of-state, state-chartered banks in order to bypass state rate limits.
“Congress shouldn’t unleash predatory lenders on people who are already experiencing record debt, rising prices, and an affordability crisis,” Saunders said. “Congress must reject bills that enable predatory lending, must pass national interest rate limits, and must eliminate the right of banks to ignore state interest rate limits.”
Related Resources
- Press Release: Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Oppose Unaffordable 100%+ APR Bank Loans, May 7, 2026
- Press Release, Broad Coalition Opposes 195% APR Bank Charter for OppFi, Which Seeks to Make Payday Loans in Every State, July 31, 2026
- Press Release: Fed Urged to Reject Bank Application that Would Greenlight Enova’s 100% APR Loans Nationwide, Apr. 23, 2026
- Issue Brief: High-Cost Rent-a-Bank Loan Watch List, July 21, 2026
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