LONDON, Ky. — Protesters angry about what they called predatory lending practices stood vigil outside a collections office in rural Kentucky where the annual meeting of one of the nation's largest personal finance companies was held Tuesday.

        The protest was part of the latest initiative by groups representing low-income borrowers to pressure Household International to reform its lending practices.

        While about 30 borrowers from as far away as Minnesota stood on a patch of gravel waving placards, others were inside the meeting cheering for a resolution calling for a study that could lead to tying salaries of top executives to success in stopping harmful lending practices. The resolution failed.

        Household International Vice President Craig Streem denied allegations that the company engages in predatory lending.

        “All of our lending policies are in accord with federal and state regulations and requirements,” Mr. Streem said. “If we find a loan officer who goes over the line, he or she is history. We will not stand for that.”

        The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as ACORN, has been pushing for two years for reforms in Household International's lending practices.

        “One of the biggest problems dragging neighborhoods down is predatory lending — loans that people would be better off without,” said David Swanson, spokesman for the group. “They're destroying families and leaving many without their homes.”

        Lillian Allen of Pittsburgh said she received a $10,000 loan from Household International to build a retaining wall behind her home. After she signed the loan agreement, Ms. Allen said she learned that she would be paying 22 percent interest.

        “I had no idea,” she said. “I had to take my savings out of the bank to pay off the loan.”

        Betty Coy of Apple Valley, Minn., said she and her husband received two loans from Household International. One for $132,859 at 12.49 percent interest and monthly payments of $1,416. Another for $25,000 at 21.75 percent interest and monthly payments of $458. Ms. Coy said the loans forced her family into bankruptcy.

        The Coys were among three families who filed suit last week in Illinois, charging that Household International and its subsidiaries misled borrowers about terms and conditions on loans totaling at least $45 million. The suit accused Household International of using sales promotions to lure borrowers into debt-consolidation loans with high rates and fees and prepayment penalties. It's one of two such lawsuits now pending against the company.

        Julie Goodridge — president of NorthStar Asset Management in Boston, who holds 1,100 shares in Household International — said she believes the protesters have legitimate claims. Ms. Goodridge, sponsor of the resolution, was among the 27 percent who favored tying executive pay to better loan practices.

        Ms. Goodridge, who voted by proxy, said the same resolution garnered only 5 percent support last year. Jumping to 27 percent support this year, she said, should be viewed as a victory.

        “Household is rewarding its CEO with money that has been stripped from the equity saved up in the homes of struggling families,” said Maude Hurd, president of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. “Household's predatory loans devastate lives and damage neighborhoods. It's just wrong to profit extravagantly from abusive loans.”

        Household International, headquartered just outside of Chicago at Prospect Heights, Ill., provides consumer loans, credit cards and automobile financing through 1,400 branch offices, including 21 in Kentucky.

        Protesters claimed Household International chose London, some 1 1/2 hours from the nearest commercial airport, for the annual meeting to make it more difficult for them to attend. Streem said the company holds its shareholders meeting at various locations each year to feature its subsidiaries. In London, that was one of the company's collection centers.

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