OHA temporarily halts popular loan program

HONOLULU (June 28, 2012) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is suspending a debt-consolidation loan program over concerns about its inability to keep pace with demand from borrowers.

The suspension takes effect July 1, when up to $25,000 will temporarily not be available to Native Hawaiian consumers burdened with debt and interested in applying for a debt-consolidation loan to lower their monthly payments.

More than $8.5 million in debt-consolidation loans have been borrowed from OHA since the organization began offering the service in May 2011 as part of the Mālama Loan Program, which has benefited Native Hawaiians seeking loans to pay for business and education expenses as well as cover home-improvement costs.

The decision to temporarily halt offering debt-consolidation loans is largely intended to help preserve resources in order to continue funding other financial-service products in the Mālama Loan Program, which is administered through First Hawaiian Bank.

For more information, call (808) 594-1924.