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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Keeley & Rep. Hocker & Sen. DeLuca &
Sen. Bonini |
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Reps.
Barbieri, Brady, Kenton, Heffernan, Peterman, Schooley, D.E. Williams,
Wilson; Sen. Lawson |
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 146th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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HOUSE BILL NO. 289 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 5 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LOANS. |
Section 1. Amend §2227, Title 5 of the Delaware Code by making insertions
as shown by underling and deletions as shown by strike through as follows:
§ 2227.
Definitions.
As used in this subchapter:
(1) "Business day" means, with respect to recission under §
2235A of this title, all calendar days except Sundays and legal public
holidays.
(2) "Closed end credit" means the extension of credit by a
licensee to a borrower pursuant to an arrangement or agreement which is not a
revolving credit plan as defined in subchapter II of this chapter.
(3) "Conspicuously displayed" means highlighted through the use
of capitalization, bold print, underlining or some combination thereof.
(4) "Loan" means any single extension of closed end credit.
(5) "Right of recission" means, with respect to any short-term
consumer loan, the right to return any amount borrowed, in full, on or before
the close of business of the business day following the day on which such sum
has been disbursed or advanced without the incursion of any fee or other
charges.
(6) "Rollover" means, with respect to any short-term consumer
loan, the extension of an outstanding and unpaid indebtedness beyond the stated
repayment period solely on the basis of the payment of a fee without approval
of a new loan application.
(7) "Short-term consumer loan" means a loan of $5001,000
or less made to an individual borrower that charges interest and/or fees for
which the stated repayment period is less than 60 days and is not secured by
title to a motor vehicle.
(8) "Workout agreement" means an agreement between an
individual borrower and a licensee for the repayment of an outstanding and
unpaid indebtedness. which requires a net reduction of not less than
10% of such indebtedness per payment period. The workout agreement must provide for
payments in equal installments over a period of at least 90 days and the
licensee may not assess any other fee, interest charge, or other charge on the
borrower as a result of converting the loan into a workout agreement.
Section 2. Amend §2235A, Title 5 of the Delaware Code by making
insertions as shown by underlining and deletions as shown by strike through as
follows:
§ 2235A.
Short-term consumer loans.
(a) In addition to such other limitations and requirements as are imposed
pursuant to other provisions of this subchapter, short-term consumer loans
shall be subject to the following:
(1)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no licensee shall make, and no
borrower shall receive, a short-term consumer loan that would cause the
borrower to have more than five (5) short-term consumer loans from all
licensees in any twelve-month period. For the purposes of this section a
rollover or a refinancing shall be considered a short-term consumer loan. Any loan made or collected in violation of
this paragraph is void, and the licensee does not have the right to collect,
receive, or retain any principal, interest, fees or other charges. A violation
of this section is a violation of Chapter 25 of Title 6 of the Delaware Code.
(12) No licensee shall make more than 4 rollovers of an
existing short-term consumer loan. A licensee may, following not more than the
maximum allowable number of rollovers, enter into a workout agreement with the
borrower or take such other actions as are lawful to collect any outstanding
and unpaid indebtedness.
(23) No licensee shall make a short-term consumer loan
unless such loan is subject to a right of recission on the part of the individual
borrower.
(34) No licensee shall pursue or threaten to pursue
criminal action against an individual borrower in connection with the
nonpayment of any amount due, including the unpaid return of any check or
automated clearing house transaction.
(b) In addition to such other disclosure requirements as are imposed
pursuant to other provisions of this subchapter, short-term consumer loans
shall be subject to the following: No licensee shall make a short-term consumer
loan unless the application for such loan, which application shall be written
in both English and Spanish, contains a written disclosure, conspicuously
displayed, that:
(1) The loan is designed as a short-term cash flow solution and not
designed as a solution for longer term financial problems;
(2) Additional fees may accrue if the loan is rolled over; and
(3) Credit counseling services are available to consumers who are
experiencing financial problems.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a licensee from refinancing the
principal amount of a short-term consumer loan, subject to the limitations and
requirements imposed herein.
(d) The Commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to
exempt certain loans or classes of loans from the requirements of this section.
(e) Every short-term consumer loan provider must post in plain view, in
an area easily accessible to their customers at the entrance to the office and
on any website, a schedule of fees and rates applicable to their loans, and a
prominent statement that: "A payday loan is not intended to meet long-term
financial needs."
(f) A
licensee or licensee’s agent shall not engage in any device or subterfuge
intended to evade the requirements of this chapter through any method
including, but not limited to, mail, telephone, internet or any electronic
means, including:
(1) Offering, making, or assisting a borrower
to obtain a loan in violation of subsection (a), or brokering or acting as an
agent for a third party in such a transaction, regardless of whether approval,
acceptance or ratification is necessary to create a legal obligation for the
third party.
(2) Disguising a short-term
consumer loan as a revolving line of credit, or making or assisting a borrower
to obtain a revolving line of credit for the purpose of avoiding the
requirements of subsection (a).
Section 3.
Amend Title 5 of the Delaware Code by inserting a new section 2235B as shown by
underlining as follows:
§2235B.
Database.
(a) The Commissioner shall, by contract
with a third-party provider or otherwise, develop and implement a common
database with real-time access through an Internet connection by means of which
a licensee may determine:
(1)
Whether a borrower has an outstanding short-term consumer loan;
(2)
The number of short-term consumer loans the borrower has outstanding;
(3)
Whether the borrower is eligible for a loan under subsection (a) of § 2235A of
this chapter; and
(4)
Any other information necessary to comply with this chapter.
(b) The Commissioner shall ensure that
the provider of the database referred to in this section is responsible to:
(1) Establish and maintain a process for responding to transaction verification requests from a licensee in the event the database is inaccessible due to technical difficulties;
(2) Take reasonable measures to prevent identity theft;
(3) Provide accurate and secure receipt, transmission and storage of borrower data; and
(4) Provide the Commissioner or his designee complete access to the database.
(c) Licensees shall:
(1)
When entering into a short-term consumer loan, accurately and immediately
submit to the database any data in the format that the Commissioner may
require, including the borrower’s name, address, social security or employment
authorization number, gross monthly income, amount of transaction, interest
rate, date of transaction, anticipated date loan will be paid off;
(2) Promptly correct any incorrect data entered into the database that was previously submitted; and
(3)
Promptly record the date a short-term consumer loan is paid in full.
(d) A licensee must continue to enter
and update all required information for any short-term consumer loans subject
to this section that are outstanding or have not yet expired after the date on
which the licensee no longer has the license required by this chapter. Within
ten business days after ceasing to make loans subject to this section, the
licensee must submit a plan for continuing compliance with this subsection to
the Commissioner for approval. The Commissioner must promptly approve or
disapprove the plan and may require the licensee to submit a new or modified
plan that ensures compliance with this section.
(e) The Commissioner shall adopt rules
or regulations for the administration and enforcement of this section. Such regulations shall include:
(1)
A requirement that identifying borrower information is deleted from the
database on a regular and routine basis, twelve months after the loan is paid
off;
(2)
Standards for the retention, archiving, and deletion of information entered or
stored in the database;
(3)
A requirement that data collected pursuant to this section be used only as
prescribed in this chapter or for research and reporting as authorized by the
Banking Commissioner;
(4)
A rule authorizing a fee per transaction for data required to be
submitted. The fee shall be payable to
the database provider in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner. A licensee
may not charge a customer all or part of the fee.
(f) The database established under this
section shall not be considered a public record for purposes of the Freedom of
Information Act in Chapter 100, Title 29 of this Code.
Section 4. Amend Title 5 of the Delaware Code inserting a new section 2235C as shown by underlining as follows:
§ 2235C. Report by Commissioner
(a) The Commissioner shall collect and
submit the following information to the Banking Committee of the Senate and the
Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee of the House of
Representatives on or before March 15 of each year:
(1)
The total number and dollar amount of short-term consumer loan transactions;
(2)
The total number of individual borrowers who entered into short-term consumer
loan transactions along with their gross monthly income;
(3)
The minimum, maximum, and average amount of short-term consumer loan
transactions;
(4)
The minimum, maximum, and average annual percentage rate of short-term consumer
loans;
(5)
The average number of days a short-term consumer loan is outstanding;
(6)
The number of borrowers entering into each permissible number of short-term
consumer loans, one transaction to five transactions;
(7)
The default rate on short-term consumer loans;
(8)
Any other information that the commissioner believes is relevant or useful; and
(9)
Any other information requested by the banking committees at least 60 days before
the Commissioner’s report is due.
(b) The Commissioner shall require the database operator and licensees to submit any and all information necessary for the Commissioner to prepare the report referenced in subsection (a).
Section 5. This Act shall be effective on January 1, 2013.
SYNOPSIS
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This bill limits to five the number of short-term consumer loans (sometimes called payday loans) that any one borrower may obtain in a twelve month period. It changes the definition of short-term consumer loan to include loans up to $1000 rather than $500. The bill also provides for establishment of a database to track the number of short-term consumer loans an individual has obtained in a twelve month period. Finally, the Banking Commissioner is directed to provide a report on the prevalence and nature of these payday loans to the General Assembly. |