PArt I. GEneral provisions
[§480J-1] Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Annual percentage rate" means an annual percentage rate as determined pursuant to section 107 of the Truth in Lending Act, title 15 United States Code section 1606. For the purposes of this definition, all fees and charges, including interest and monthly maintenance fees authorized by this chapter, shall be included in the calculation of the annual percentage rate.
"Arranger" means a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt.
"Branch office" means any location in the State that is identified by any means to the public or consumers as a location at which the licensee holds itself out as an installment lender.
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of financial institutions.
"Consumer" means a natural person who is the buyer, lessee, or debtor to whom credit is granted in a transaction that is primarily for that natural person's personal, family, or household purposes.
"Control" means the power, either directly or indirectly, to direct management or policies of a company, whether through ownership of securities, by contract, or otherwise.
"Control person" means any person who directly or indirectly exercises control of a licensee or applicant.
"Default" means a consumer's failure to repay an installment loan in compliance with the terms contained in an installment loan agreement.
"Department" means the department of commerce and consumer affairs.
"Division" means the division of financial institutions of the department of commerce and consumer affairs.
"Elder" means an individual who is sixty-two years of age or older.
"Finance charges" means the cost of credit or cost of borrowing, including the interest and other fees authorized by this chapter.
"Financial institution" means any bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, financial services loan company, or credit union doing business in the State whose accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, or other similar or successor program of federal insurance.
"Installment lender" or "lender" means any person who is in the business of offering or making a consumer loan, who arranges a consumer loan for a third party, or who acts as an agent for a third party, regardless of whether the third party is exempt from licensure under this chapter or whether approval, acceptance, or ratification by the third party is necessary to create a legal obligation for the third party, through any method including mail, telephone, the Internet, or any electronic means.
"Installment loan" means a loan made pursuant to this chapter.
"Instrument" means a method of payment that may include a debit card payment, Automated Clearing House transfer, electronic check or other forms of electronic transfers, money order, cash, personal check signed by the consumer, or any other method of loan payment authorized by this part or by rule adopted by the commissioner pursuant to chapter 91 and made payable to a person subject to this chapter.
"Interest" means all charges payable directly or indirectly by a borrower to a licensee as a condition to a loan or an application for a loan, however denominated. "Interest" does not include default charges, deferment charges, insurance charges or premiums, court costs, loan origination charges, check collection charges, credit line charges, credit report charges, or other fees and charges specifically authorized by law.
"Licensee" means a person who is licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter.
"Loan amount" means the amount financed, as that term is defined in Truth in Lending (Regulation Z), title 12 Code of Federal Regulations, chapter X, part 1026, as amended, or supplemented by this chapter.
"Loan charges" means the total of all charges made in connection with a loan except for insufficient funds charges authorized by section 480J-11 and default charges authorized by section 480J-4(i).
"Maintenance fee" means a monthly fee paid to a licensee to maintain an installment loan.
"NMLS" means the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, which is a licensing system developed and maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors for the state licensing and registration of state-licensed loan originators and other financial services providers, or any system provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
"Nonprofit organization" means an organization that:
(1) Has the status of a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
(2) Conducts its activities in a manner that serves public or charitable purposes, rather than commercial purposes;
(3) Receives funding, revenue, and charge fees in a manner that does not incentivize its organization or its employees to act other than in the best interests of its clients; and
(4) Compensates its employees in a manner that does not incentivize employees to act other than in the best interests of its clients.
"Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or other association of individuals, however organized.
"Place of business" means a location where installment loans are offered or made and includes each website through which a consumer may apply for an installment loan from an installment lender.
"Precomputed interest" means an interest method that uses the original payment schedule to calculate interest.
"Renewal" means the refinancing of an installment loan that occurs during the period between the original maturity date and the immediately preceding installment payment due date. "Renewal" does not include the refinancing of an installment loan that occurs prior to the penultimate installment payment due date.
"Truth in Lending Act" means the federal Truth in Lending Act, title 15 United States Code section 1601 et seq., as may be amended, and regulations adopted thereunder, as may be amended. [L 2021, c 56, pt of §2]