Gov. Doyle Bans Auto Title Loans

Gov. Jim Doyle banned auto title loans in Wisconsin by using his partial veto power to cross out parts of a payday lending bill so that it read: “No licensed lender may make a auto title loan.” The new law limits payday loans to $1,500 or 35 percent of the applicant’s monthly income, whichever is less, and borrowers may only roll over loans one time. Read the Associated Press article.

Legislature Passes Bill Limiting Payday Lending

Wisconsin could soon regulate payday and auto-title lending. Members of the state Legislature passed a bill that would restrict borrowers to one loan at a time, limit borrowing, including fees and interest to the lesser of $1,500 or 35 percent of gross monthly income, and require reasonable repayment terms. Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to sign the bill. Read the Oshkosh Northwestern article.

Editorial: Payday Loan Bill Eliminates Options

Proposed Wisconsin legislation that would cap payday loan interest rates and limit loan amounts “will not eliminate the financial need that still exists,” the Milwaukee Courier editor writes in an online editorial. “Instead of eliminating options, legislators should find a way to open up the door for more options. If the banks are threatened by this, then begin offering something better.”

Women Voters Support Payday Loan Cap

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund supports the approval of the Predatory Lending Consumer Protection Act (AB 392), which would cap interest rates on small dollar loans to 36 percent APR. The League will testify in support of AB 392 at the Oct. 7 joint hearing of the Assembly Committees on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection. Read more in the Small Business Times.

A Closer Look at Payday Loan Borrowers

Payday loan borrowers aren�t ignorant, writes Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran.

�These are not sheep for the fleecing. By definition, you need a paycheck and a checking account to get a payday loan, so these aren�t the unbanked. They�re less likely to be high-school dropouts (but also less likely to be college grads) than Americans on the whole. Typically, they�re young families with kids, cars and apartments, earning $30,000 to $40,000 a year. Half have credit cards.� Read the column and McIlheran�s blog post, �Payday borrowers: They�re gosh-darn Republicans!�

Scam Targets Payday Loan Borrowers

A new scam targets people who have taken out payday loans, warns the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. The scam could be the result of a security breach, as the con artists seem to have an unusual amount of personal information, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Payday Loan Industry Fights Loan Caps

At least 27 industry lobbyists have registered with the state to fight a proposed 36 percent cap on payday loan interest rates, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

In his column on the article, Journal Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran writes, �[G]iven how all-encompassing regulation has become, how comprehensively government power presumes to decide winners and losers, it draws even companies otherwise uninclined to lobby into the Capitol.�

Payday Lender Nullifies Loans

Arrowhead Investments LLC, a provider of payday loans over the Internet, has agreed to zero-out all loans to Wisconsin customers and pay $180,000 in restitution and costs to settle allegations of consumer law violations, the Business Journal of Milwaukee reported.

Editorial: Curb Payday Lending

Wisconsin’s Predatory Lending Consumer Protection Act, which would cap interest rates for consumer loans at 36 percent annually, should be made law, writes the Wausau Daily Herald in an editorial. Read reader comments here.