Mariner Finance LLC, a former consumer finance division of First Mariner Bancorp, the bank founded by Edwin F. Hale Sr. whose headquarters once dominated the Canton skyline, is now a leader in predatory loans that are a “way of monetizing poor people,” according to an investigation by The Washington Post.
The company gives loans in the form of checks with interest rates as high as 36 percent, and in some cases, the Post found, took people behind on payments to court. Last year, the company filed 300 lawsuits in Baltimore alone.
“Among its rivals, Mariner stands out for the frequent use of mass-mailed checks, which allows customers to accept a high-interest loan on an impulse—just sign the check,” the Post reports. “It has become a key marketing method.”
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