Loans Expert

Gov. Jim Doyle single-handedly banned auto title loans in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

The governor signed a bill that will regulate payday lending for the first time after years of unchecked growth by the industry. But he creatively used his partial veto power to rewrite the law, banning auto title loans and making other changes to protect consumers from what he called “predatory lending practices.”

Lawmakers approved the plan last month, but decided not to ban the short-term loans that are secured by a car title after key senators objected in the final weeks of the session. Instead, the bill that cleared the Senate and Assembly called for limiting auto title loans to one per customer for no more than 50 percent of the car’s value, excluding fees.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Mortgage purchase applications sank 27.1 percent to the lowest level since May 1997 in the absence of the popular government support, the group said. U.S. housing groped for footing after more than a year of homebuyer tax credits worth up to $8,000 expired on April 30.

Requests for home purchase loans have fallen almost 20 percent over the past month despite low borrowing costs.