Jul
14

How Private Equity Found Power and Profit in State Capitols

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Private equity firms have used sophisticated but indirect political maneuvering with state and local entities to smooth the way for growth and revenue.

PHOENIX — Inside a cramped committee room on the cactus-dotted campus of Arizona’s Capitol, Kelsey Lundy stepped to the podium to detail new legislation and the higher costs it would impose on struggling borrowers.

 But Ms. Lundy is not a lawmaker, a government employee or even a statehouse intern.

She is a lobbyist for one of the nation’s largest lenders.

 That lender — controlled by the Fortress Investment Group, one of Wall Street’s most powerful private equity firms — wrote the bill. Months later, in 2014, the state’s legislators passed the law, making it easier to charge interest of 36 percent to borrowers living on the financial margins…
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