“Rent-a-bank” arrangements are the vehicle of choice for subprime lenders seeking to avoid state usury, licensure, and other consumer protection laws. In a rent-a-bank arrangement, a non-bank lender contracts with a bank to make loans per its specifications and then buys the loans from the...

While there was in general no negative attitude towards interest on loans in the ancient Near Eastern civilizations it was the moral commands of the Hebrew Bible that viewed the concept of interest taking on loans - at least to any member of the community of Israel -- as a morally questionable...