Loan shark
For other uses, see Loan shark (disambiguation). A shop window in Falls Church, Virginia, United States. Loan sharking may refer to both legal and illegal activities. A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has cruel (or strict) terms of collection upon failure, and operates outside off the street (outside of local authority). [1] The term usually refers to illegal activity, but may also refer to predatory lending with extremely high interest rates such as payday or title loans. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [ page needed ] [7] [ page needed ] An unintended consequence of poverty alleviation initiatives can be that loan sharks borrow from formal microfinance lenders and lend on to poor borrowers. [8] Loan sharks sometimes enforce repayment by blackmail or threats of violence. Historically, many moneylenders skirted between legal and criminal activity. In the recent western world, loan sharks have been a feature of the criminal underworld. Contents 1 Uni