The new Easy Advance loan program from Republic Bancorp netted the institution $1.6 million for the first quarter ended March 31. The company brought in $5.2 in interest income from the program, offset by $3.6 million provision for loss on the loans. Meanwhile, the company's refund transfer business rose by 11 percent over the first quarter of 2015.
The Easy Advance program, offered through February 29, is typical of the new generation of tax loan products which have replaced Refund Anticipation Loans. Customers are limited to an advance of $750 and no fees are charged to the taxpayer. All fees are paid by the tax preparer, who is prohibited from passing them along to the customer. Customers also cannot be required to buy other bank products, such as refund transfers.
Republic said the $5.2 million in interest income came $123 million advances it originated.
Increased volume drove the 11-percent rise in refund transfer revenue, the bank said. Net income from those fees dropped to $1,261,000 for the most recently reported quarter, down 6.8 percent from $1,353,000 a year earlier.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
