NEW YORK — Federal regulators proposed a significant clampdown on payday lenders and other high interest loans on Thursday, the first nationwide attempt to address an industry widely thought of as taking advantage of the poor and desperate.

The proposals, if enacted intact, are likely to cause a nationwide contraction and restructuring of the $38 billion payday loan industry.

Consumers desperate to borrow money quickly to cover an unexpected expense might have an avenue they once used now closed, since mainstream banks generally don’t provide these kinds of low-dollar, short-term loans. Payday lending is often thought of as an exploitive, deceptive industry that traps desperate borrowers in cycles of debt that can last for months. Roughly half of all states ban payday lending outright or have caps on how much payday lenders can charge in interest, which often carry annual rates north of 300 percent. Last month Google announced it would ban ads for payday loans, saying the industry creates ‘‘misleading or harmful products.’’

The loans are used widely, partly because many Americans do not have enough savings to cover an emergency, as seen in a poll released last month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 12 million Americans take out a payday loan each year, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts, which has done extensive research on the industry. The average borrower takes out eight loans of $375 each per year, spending $520 on interest.

John Charette, 47, of Yarmouth, Maine, said the payday loan outfits can be helpful for people like him, who’s divorced and has bad credit. He used RepubliCash in Portland to get a $250 loan to update the expired registration on his car, knowing a police citation would be even more expensive.

‘‘It’s going to fill in the gap,’’ Charette said, noting that he’s unable to get a credit card. ‘‘It’s another avenue for credit because I simply don’t have it.’’

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed regulations seek to tackle common complaints about the payday lending industry. The proposal would also be the first nationwide regulation of the payday lending industry, which had largely been left to the states to regulate.

The bureau is proposing that lenders must conduct what’s known as a ‘‘full-payment test.’’ Because most payday loans are required to be paid in full when they come due, usually two weeks to a month after the money is borrowed, the bureau wants lenders to prove that borrowers are able to repay that money without having to renew the loan repeatedly. There would also be restrictions on the number of times a borrower can renew the loan.

The bureau would require that lenders give additional warnings before they attempt to debit a borrower’s bank account, and also restrict the number of times they can attempt to debit the account. The aim is to lower the frequency of overdraft fees that are common with people who take out payday loans.

‘‘Too many borrowers seeking a short-term cash fix are saddled with loans they cannot afford and sink into long-term debt,’’ Richard Cordray, director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a prepared statement.

Cordray compared the situation to getting into a taxi for a crosstown ride and finding oneself stuck on a ‘‘ruinously expensive’’ trip across the country. He said the proposal would aim to ‘‘prevent lenders from succeeding by setting up borrowers to fail.’’

Payday lenders would have to give borrowers at least three days’ notice before debiting their account. In a study published last year, the bureau found that payday borrowers were charged on average $185 in overdraft fees and bank penalties caused by payday lenders attempting to debit the borrower’s account.

The agency’s plan is likely to face stiff opposition from lobbyists from the payday lending industry and auto-title lending industry, as well as opposition from members of Congress.

‘‘The CFPB’s proposed rule presents a staggering blow to consumers as it will cut off access to credit for millions of Americans who use small-dollar loans to manage a budget shortfall or unexpected expense,’’ said Dennis Shaul, CEO of the Community Financial Services Association of America, which is a trade group for the payday lending industry.

The agency is seeking comments from interested parties and the general public on the proposals before final regulations are issued. Comments are due by Sept. 14. The final rules are likely to go into effect early next year.