| The big one I can think of is that they are willing and able to loan small amounts of money that a bank isn't really chompin' at the bit to do. They also will loan for shorter periods. They seem to be better equipped to do business with the group that has a bad credit rating and I'm not sure I ever saw a bank take possession of property as collateral. Sometimes, they name collateral (as in a car loan, for instance), but the only time I've ever seen them take possesion of it is in the case of repossesion a default.
Long story short, I think they serve a percentage of society. There are laws that govern them - I have no idea about enforcement.
__________________ When the goin' gets tough, the tough go shopping!  |