Anyone not yet enrolled to offer refund anticipation loans for the 2011 season will find this year's options very limited. With Chase having dropped out earlier this year and Republic Bank reporting it will have only a third of the funds it offered last year, another avenue has disappeared as
That leaves Ohio Valley Bank as the only other financial institution believed to be in the RAL business. It had been anticipated that Meta Financial would fund loans for the Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, but the later company removed enrollment for RALs from its Web site after regulators told Meta it needed written permission to expand any loan programs.
The market is further complicated with H&R Block's having sued HSBC Bank for allegedly not taking steps that would let its RAL program move forward for tax season.
