ATLANTA, Jan. 20, 2025 – Today, Kindred Futures released its latest policy brief, “Trapped by Design: How Predatory Lenders Exploit Black Atlanta,” which explores the disproportionate clustering of predatory lenders, including auto title loan companies, in Atlanta’s majority-Black neighborhoods – causing compounding economic harm for residents. The report sheds light on the concentration of 67% of predatory lenders in Atlanta’s majority Black neighborhoods. According to Kindred Futures’ analysis, title loans cost Atlanta $128.2 million in lost annual economic output and 1,336 jobs each year. Statewide, Georgia loses $271.1 million in economic output and 2,796 jobs due to title loans.

“Predatory lenders don’t just operate in Black neighborhoods—they are deliberately concentrated in them, exploiting communities that have been systematically excluded from fair financial systems,” said Alex Camardelle, Ph.D., vice president of Policy and Research at Kindred Futures. “Atlanta must take bold action to curb the saturation of predatory lenders, strengthen consumer protections, and invest in community-driven financial solutions that actually build wealth rather than extract it.” 

Although Georgia banned traditional payday lending in 2004, title loans and high-cost installment loans continue to operate in the state, thriving in areas where traditional banks have intentionally chosen not to open branches, creating a financial void that predatory lenders exploit with high-interest loans that trap residents in cycles of debt and financial insecurity. These exploitative practices disproportionately target low-income communities and communities of color, deepening systemic inequities.

Kindred Futures is committed to building collective Black wealth. As a think and act tank, the organization is a solutions aggregator and influences capital movers. 

“The release of this research is a significant milestone in our work that underscores that economic exclusion and systemic racism impacts everyone,” said Janelle Williams, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Kindred Futures. 

Key findings from the report include: 

• Our research highlights that predatory debt mechanisms are actively stripping opportunities to build wealth from Black communities in Atlanta.
• The stress induced by financial predators does not stop at finances; it also has far-reaching effects on the health and well-being of families. 
• Small-dollar lenders often prey on small businesses by offering loans with high costs and exploitative terms – targeting small businesses, especially those with limited access to traditional financing.

The brief also makes the following policy recommendations:

• Cap interest rates on title and installment loans. Implement a statewide interest rate cap of 36% APR or lower on all title loans and installment loans, aligning with successful reforms in North Carolina, Colorado, and Illinois.  
• Use zoning laws to limit the concentration of predatory institutions. Introduce zoning regulations in Atlanta and other municipalities to limit the density of predatory lenders in low-income neighborhoods. 
• Create a statewide Community Development Financial Institution Fund. Establish a Georgia Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund to provide affordable, low-interest loans to underserved communities.
• Create a City of Atlanta-run or statewide Community Development Financial Institution expansion program. The CDFI fund should offer tax breaks, grant funding and provide low-cost loans to support CDFIs to open brick-and-mortar branches in historically redlined neighborhoods. 
• Strengthen enforcement against exploitative lending practices by closing loopholes that non-tribal lenders use to bypass state regulations under the guise of tribal affiliation and sovereign immunity. So-called “rent-a-tribe” schemes not only trap borrowers in predatory debt but also exploit tribal nations by using their sovereignty as a shield for harmful lending practices

Kindred Futures partners with Black Wealth Solution Providers, redefining wealth so that Black people have the opportunity to contribute to and accelerate a just and inclusive economy. That is our promise. We are connected and committed to new models of abundance because we know that investing in people pushed to the economic fringes, results in a thriving economies and communities.

Read the brief here.​