Shares of payday lenders barely budged Thursday after Ohio passed a law making the business tougher in the state.
Analysts said the market had already anticipated the law would pass, and the stock prices assumed little or no profit in the state from payday lending in the future.
The state legislature of Ohio passed a bill capping the interest rate payday lenders can charge in the state. Payday lenders issue loans based on a borrower drawing a regular paycheck. Regulators in some states have been cracking down on the industry because of what they claim are usurious interest rates.
Cash America International Inc., which runs 139 stores in the state, said it will close its payday lending business there. Dollar Financial Corp. said it is reviewing its business in Ohio, which consists of 21 stores and what it called minimal exposure.
No payday lender's stock fell substantially, and in fact some rose more than 2 percent along with an upswing in the broader market.
Stephens Inc. analyst Dennis Telzrow said the law ironically forces Cash America to shut down its slowest-growing business.
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