A lender sued thousands of lower-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now it wants to be a national bank.
Texas Tribune
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Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
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Dozens of consumer advocacy organizations and Latino civil rights groups are contesting an effort by Oportun Financial Corp. to become a national bank, citing an investigation published last year by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
The monthslong probe showed the loan company had sued thousands of lower-income Latinos in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic while depicting itself as a benefactor of that community. It also revealed that Oportun had become the most litigious personal loan company in the state and routinely charged high interest rates while keeping customers on the hook with repeated refinancing.