![Kristina G. Fisher, Associate Director of Think New Mexico](/images/resized/images/news/2016/408_jan27/2_100_100.jpg)
On Jan. 1, we marked the end of four decades of predatory lending in New Mexico, thanks to a new law that reduces the maximum annual interest rate on small loans from 175%, one of the highest rates allowed anywhere in the nation, to 36%.
As Think New Mexico explained in our 2020 policy report making the case for this reform, the 36% interest rate cap is actually a return to a highly effective consumer protection law that was in effect from the mid-1950s through the early-1980s.
In the 1950s, the New Mexico legislature and governor capped the annual interest rates of loans at no more than 36%. This law protected consumers while still allowing plenty of access to credit...