PART II. MAXIMUM CHARGES

§3519. Consumer loans

A. The maximum loan finance charge for any consumer loan other than one made with a lender credit card that may be charged, contracted for or received by a licensed lender or supervised financial organization may equal but not exceed:

(a) Thirty-six percent per year for that portion of the unpaid principal amount of the loan not exceeding one thousand four hundred dollars;

(b) Twenty-seven percent per year for that portion of the unpaid principal amount of the loan exceeding one thousand four hundred dollars and not exceeding four thousand dollars;

(c) Twenty-four percent per year for that portion of the unpaid principal amount on the loan exceeding four thousand dollars and not exceeding seven thousand dollars; and

(d) Twenty-one percent per year for that portion of the unpaid principal amount of the loan exceeding seven thousand dollars.

B. This Section does not limit or restrict the manner of contracting for loan finance charges under a consumer loan, whether by way of precomputed interest, simple interest, or otherwise, so long as the annualized loan finance charge rate computed on an actuarial or U.S. Rule basis over the entire scheduled term of the transaction, assuming that all payments will be made when due and disregarding the possible effects of early prepayment or acceleration of maturity, does not exceed the maximum rates permitted in this Chapter. Demand loans shall have presumed term of five years.

C. For the purposes of this section, the term of a loan commences with the date the loan is made. Differences in the lengths of months are disregarded and a day may be counted as one-thirtieth of a month. Subject to classifications and differentiations the lender may reasonably establish, a part of a month in excess of fifteen days may be treated as a full month if periods of fifteen days or less are disregarded and if that procedure is not consistently used to obtain a greater yield than would otherwise be permitted.

D. With respect to a consumer loan made pursuant to a revolving loan account

(1) the loan finance charge shall be deemed not to exceed the maximum annual rates if the loan finance charge contracted for and received does not exceed a charge in each monthly billing cycle which is one-twelfth of the maximum annual rates computed on an amount no greater than

(a) the average daily balance of the debt;

(b) the unpaid balance of the debt on the 1st day of the billing cycle, or,

(c) the median amount within a specified range within which the average daily balance or the unpaid balance of the debt, on the first day of the billing cycle, is included; for the purposes of this subparagraph and subparagraph (b), a variation of not more than four days from month to month is "the first day of the billing cycle";

(2) if the billing cycle is not monthly, the loan finance charge shall be deemed not to exceed the maximum annual rates if the loan finance charge contracted for and received does not exceed a percentage which bears the same relation to the maximum annual rates as the number of days in the billing cycle bears to 360.

E. Notwithstanding any provision of Subsection A the extender of credit may contract for and receive a minimum loan finance charge of not more than fifteen dollars when the amount advanced does not exceed two hundred dollars or twenty-five dollars when the amount advanced exceeds two hundred dollars; such charge shall be in lieu of all other finance charges.

Added by Acts 1972, No. 454, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1973. Amended by Acts 1974, No. 466, §2; Acts 1980, No. 501, §1, eff. July 22, 1980; Acts 1980, No. 694, §1; Acts 1986, No. 584, §1, eff. July 2, 1986.