Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berkes Council for Women convened a public hearing Monday night at the Family Justice Center to help women and their families realize financial freedom. The Councils financial independence workgroup presented findings from its most recent policy paper on the impact of high interest lending practices and solutions to help Chattanoogans get out of debt.

Back when I first ran for state office, people shared their concerns with me about predatory lending and the damage it does to businesses and homes in the neighborhoods where these stores are located," said Mayor Berke during Monday night's public forum. "And we know these high interest loans hurt women and families who are just trying to get by until their next paycheck. Two years ago, we took the first step in curbing the growth of these businesses. And through tonight's Council for Women session, we will continue to move forward on this important issue.

To improve the economic status of all women, the Mayors Council for Women is focused on helping families achieve financial independence by leveraging existing community resources and reducing predatory lending through legislative action. Research and interviews with women informed the councils finding that predatory lending is a major barrier to financial independence.

At Monday nights hearing, Jennifer Harper, director of Bridge Financial Planning, presented the groups findings, including that Tennessee has more payday lenders per each household than compared to nearly any other state and that the state allows annual percentage rates of up to 460 percent.

Tennessees density of predatory lenders is the highest. You can see what that means for the city of Chattanooga if you look at where theyre located, said Ms. Harper, pointing to the map showing the concentration in Brainerd and along public transportation hubs. We want to reduce the number of community members using high interest loans.

In Chattanooga, there is one predatory lender for about every 1,500 households, according to Census data. Being poor or excessive use of credit is one of the top five reasons people go bankrupt, according to Investopedia, and World Atlas ranks Tennessee highest in the nation for personal bankruptcy.

This isnt just about poor people, and this isnt just a problem in Midtown. Its all over our city, said Councilwoman Carol Berz, who is co-chair of the Mayors Council for Women. Predatory lenders exist because they fulfill a need, so we need to look at traditional banking differently. We cant just condemn predatory lending. We have to do more.

During the panel discussion at Mondays event, Tracee Smith, Community Development manager at First Tennessee Bank, told guests about a partnership the bank has with Operation Hope, which focuses on financial education. They work with people in the community to help build their credit scores to 720.

Operation Hope works one on one with these individuals, but they also deal with the emotional side of it, why they are in that situation, and address those issues, said Ms. Smith. Its important to teach people there are other tools out there to improve your finances.

A Council for Women subcommittee is working on financial alternatives to help women in Chattanooga and plans to propose a policy change to address predatory lending. The discussion and feedback from the public at Monday nights hearing will inform their proposal.

For more information on the Mayors Council for Women and how to get involved in advancing the status of women and families in Chattanooga, please visit http://connect.chattanooga.gov/councilforwomen/.

Participants having discussion on financial independence and predatory lending

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Mayor Berke's Council For Women Takes On Predatory Lending - The Chattanoogan