Lone Star Funds – DFC Global

Lone Star Funds acquired DFC Global Corp in 2014, a company operating as a payday lender, pawnshop operator, and check-cashing provider. DFC has faced significant regulatory actions, including a CFPB order to refund $3.3 million to US military servicemembers due to deceptive auto loan practices and a UK Financial Conduct Authority order to refund £15.4 million to customers for unaffordable lending and poor debt collection. The company charges extremely high Annual Percentage Rates (APRs), ranging from 214% in California to 33,465% in Poland, and has actively lobbied against interest rate caps in Hawaii.

• Lone Star Funds, managed by John Grayken, acquired DFC Global Corp in June 2014 for $1.3 billion, taking the company private. DFC Global operates as a "leading international non-bank provider of alternative financial services," which includes payday lending, pawnshops, and check-cashing services with 1,200 retail locations across nine countries.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) required DFC's auto loan originator, Dealers’ Financial Services, to refund $3.3 million to over 50,000 military servicemembers. The CFPB found the company misrepresented the costs of insurance and vehicle service contracts and failed to disclose all fees in its Military Installment Loans and Educational Services (MILES) program.
• DFC Global charges exceptionally high Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) globally. In the US, rates reach 460% in California and 456% in Hawaii, where the company has lobbied against legislative efforts to cap rates at 36%. Internationally, rates are higher, including 1,170% in the UK, 2,334% in Spain, and up to 33,465% in Poland.
• In October 2015, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered DFC to refund £15.4 million to 147,000 customers. The regulator determined that the company lent money to customers who could not afford to repay it and that its debt collection systems were inadequate.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2017). Lone Star Funds – DFC Global. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/lone-star-funds-dfc-global/

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Lone Star Funds – DFC Global. 2017. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/lone-star-funds-dfc-global/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Lone Star Funds – DFC Global |date=11 December 2017 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/reports/lone-star-funds-dfc-global/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2017lone, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Lone Star Funds – DFC Global}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/reports/lone-star-funds-dfc-global/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }