Lender Eagle MAN fined $200,000 after charging customers up to 182.5% in interest

Christchurch-based lender Eagle MAN Loans has been ordered to pay a $200,000 pecuniary penalty for providing high-cost loans which breached the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act ( CCCFA ). In some instances customers were charged an interest rate of 182.5% per annum, on top of credit and default fees, the Commerce Commission said.

It’s the commission’s first case enforcing rules applying to high-cost lenders as part of the CCCFA. Commerce Commission deputy chairwoman Anne Callinan warned there were extra requirements lenders must meet for high-cost loans. “Loans that have an interest rate of over 50%, and in Eagle MAN’s case over 100%, can push consumers into debt spirals that are very difficult to get out of and cause a lot of harm to consumers and their families,” Callinan said.



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