Anna-Leigh Stone, associate professor of finance and Hackney Family Research Fellow in Samford University’s Brock School of Business, has had new research published by Finance Research Letters. Her paper “Payday Alternative Loans: PAL or Foe?” discusses payday alternative loans offered by federal credit unions (FCUs).

 

Payday alternative loans (PALs) are small, short-term loans granted by federal credit unions. Stone’s paper examines the history of these loans, characteristics of credit unions that grant PALs, and how these loans impact credit risk. Credit unions with a low-income designation offer PALs and make a higher amount and number of PALs in terms of the loan portfolio. Credit unions that offer PALs have lower loan delinquency rates and do not have more one-year forward-looking credit risk.

 

Stone’s findings contribute to the broader literature on payday loan alternatives and credit union risk taking.

 

Previous research by professor Stone includes “Dodd-Frank and unlimited deposit insurance” which was published by Finance Research Letters, “The impact of uncertainty shocks on state-level employment” which was published by the Journal of Macroeconomics, and “Double the insurance, double the funds?” which published by the Journal of Banking & Finance.