WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that it reached a settlement with two payday loan businesses that didn't list interest rates for advertised loans.

The agency said that two payday loan "lead generators" - Minnesota-based We Give Loans Inc. and Arizona-based Aliyah Associates LLC - bypassed federal laws by not disclosing annual percentage rates to consumers. The lead generators gather information from potential borrowers through their Web sites and sell the information to payday lenders, who consequently offer the loans.

A proposed consent agreement would bar the companies from offering loans without providing information such as the APR and from violating federal laws dealing with lending practices.

The FTC voted 4-0 to accept the consent orders. After a 30-day comment period, the commission will vote on whether to finalize the consent orders.

According to the commission, loans advertised by We Give Loans came with a 260% annual percentage rate, while loans advertised by Aliyah Associates came with a 782% rate.

-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@ dowjones.com

    (END) Dow Jones Newswires   06-24-08 1331   Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.