Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary

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Predatory Lending: Any type of unscrupulous lending practice where a lender takes advantage of a borrower. It usually involves borrowers taking on high-cost loans they cannot afford to pay over time because the loans were based on the borrowers' assets and not on their ability to repay the debt. Low-income, elderly, or otherwise vulnerable people are often the target of this type of lending. While there are laws against certain specific types of predatory lending practices, the term is often used as a catchall for any fraudulent, abusive, discriminatory, or deceptive lending practice.