Most spokesmen contacted this week said their firms do hope to “restructure,” as the other three firms with Conway locations continued operations through Friday afternoon. Cheney Pruett, president of the Arkansas Financial Services Association, which is a trade association for Arkansas payday lenders, said Friday he has probably talked to 90 percent of the 156 payday lending companies in the state which received cease and desist letters from McDaniel this week, but he has no idea as to how many will stay open. McDaniel told the Associated Press on Wednesday that his office has prepared for a litigious fight that would end the “illegal and immoral” high-interest rates charged by the companies, and that the fight could be “long and difficult. Cheney said at the end of an interview on Friday, “The longer the better, I guess,” as firms continue to reap revenue from what one central Arkansas branch worker called “desperate customers. At Cash Advance of Arkansas on Harkrider Street, Tammie said her boss thought it would benefit him in the long run to bow out now from any legal fight. read more

Filed in: Cash Day Advance