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Catering to the Desperate

Tim Knight from Slope of Hope's Photo
by Tim Knight from Slope of Hope
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2025 - 17:42

From the Slope of Hope:

I look at thousands of charts every week of the year. Here's one in particular that I had never seen before: OPFI. As you can see, it's had a spectacular time lately, blasting hundreds of percent higher in price.

Not only has the price been strong, but the volume has been pumping higher as well, which is often a good sign.

So, what's this OPFI all about then, eh? By clicking on the company's hyperlinked name, I can get to all kinds of good information, including the company's website. That'll sate my curiosity.

And, voila, we are there! So, apart from what appears to be a pair of gay men baking some edibles whose shape we are not permitted to see, what is OppFi all about? Well, it says right there:

"To facilitate safe, simple and more affordable credit access to the everyday Americans who currently lack traditional options while rebuilding their financial health."

Since I am here to provide translation services, allow me to tell you precisely what the preceding sentence really means:

"To extract as much interest as we possibly can from people whose irresponsible habits have put them in the desperate position of having to borrow even just a few hundred dollars to make ends meet and will do practically anything to acquire those funds."

You're welcome.

And, lest you think me too cynical, I assure you, my hunch was a very kind assessment. Even I was flabbergasted, when I dug a bit deeper, to find out what these vampire squid were charging their pathetic customers. One. Hundred. Sixty. Percent.

As their own example below shows, a loan of $4,000 (to pay for, as they helpfully suggest elsewhere on the site, unexpected car repairs) can be repaid in 18 months with interest alone of $6,712.52. So, yeah, these guys are shysters and should be thrown into the sun.

I was curious who the creator of such an organization might be. Welp:

{saucy commentary redacted}

Suffice it to say that this is the world we're heading into: a K-shaped economy in which a smaller and smaller group of mega-rich people exploit and fiscally rape an increasingly large underclass. I mean, God almighty people, these are the GOOD times, and a company which is fisting its clients with 160% interest is ALREADY doing awesome.

How BAD will things get when these people need $100 to just eat?

Contributor posts published on Zero Hedge do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Zero Hedge, and are not selected, edited or screened by Zero Hedge editors.
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