Illinois Administrative Code
Title 38 - FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Part 215 - PREDATORY LOAN PREVENTION ACT
Section 215.20 - Terms of Loans Extended to Consumers
Universal Citation: 38 IL Admin Code ยง 215.20
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) General conditions. A lender who extends a loan to a consumer may not require the consumer to pay a PLPA APR for the loan with respect to the extension of a loan, except as:
1) Agreed to under the terms
of the loan agreement or promissory note;
2) Authorized by applicable State or federal
law; and
3) Not specifically
prohibited by this Part.
b) Limit on cost of a loan. A lender may not impose a PLPA APR greater than 36% in connection with an extension of a loan that is closed-end credit or in any billing cycle for open-end credit.
c) Calculation of the PLPA APR
1) Charges included in the PLPA APR. The
charges for the PLPA APR shall include, as applicable to the extension of the
loan:
A) Any credit insurance premium or fee,
any charge for single premium credit insurance, any fee for a debt cancellation
contract, or any fee for a debt suspension agreement;
B) Any fee for a credit-related ancillary
product sold in connection with the credit transaction for closed-end credit or
an account for open-end credit; and
C) Except for a bona fide fee (other than a
periodic rate), which may be excluded under subsection (d):
i) Finance charges associated with the
loan;
ii) Any application fee
charged to a consumer who applies for a loan; and
iii) Any fee imposed for participation in any
plan or arrangement for a loan, subject to subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii).
D) Certain exclusions of
Regulation Z inapplicable. Any charge set forth in subsections (c)(1)(A)
through (C) shall be included in the calculation of the PLPA APR even if that
charge would be excluded from the finance charge under Regulation Z.
2) Computing the PLPA APR
A) Closed-end credit. For closed-end credit,
the PLPA APR shall be calculated following the rules for calculating and
disclosing the "Annual Percentage Rate (APR)" for credit transactions under
Regulation Z based on the charges set forth in subsection (c)(1).
B) Open-end credit
i) In General. Except as provided in
subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii), for open-end credit, the PLPA APR shall be calculated
following the rules for calculating the effective annual percentage rate for a
billing cycle as set forth in Section 1026.14(c) and (d) of Regulation Z (as if
a lender must comply with that Section) based on the charges set forth in
subsection (c)(1). Notwithstanding Section 1026.14(c) and (d) of Regulation Z,
the amount of charges related to opening, renewing, or continuing an account
must be included in the calculation of the PLPA APR to the extent those charges
are set forth in subsection (c)(1).
ii) No balance during a billing cycle. For
open-end credit, if the PLPA APR cannot be calculated in a billing cycle
because there is no balance in the billing cycle, a lender may not impose any
fee or charge during that billing cycle, except that the lender may impose a
fee for participation in any plan or arrangement for that open-end credit so
long as the participation fee does not exceed $100 per annum, regardless of the
billing cycle in which the participation fee is imposed; provided, however,
that the $100-per annum limitation on the amount of the participation fee does
not apply to a bona fide participation fee imposed in accordance with
subsection (d).
d) Bona Fide Fee Charged to a Credit Card Account
1) In General. For a loan extended in
a credit card account under an open end (not home-secured) loan plan, a bona
fide fee, other than a periodic rate, is not a charge required to be included
in the PLPA APR pursuant to subsection (c)(1). The exclusion provided for any
bona fide fee under this subsection (d) applies only to the extent that the
charge by the lender is a bona fide fee and must be reasonable for that type of
fee.
2) Ineligible items. The
exclusion for bona fide fees in subsection (d)(1) does not apply to:
A) Any credit insurance premium or fee,
including any charge for single premium credit insurance, any fee for a debt
cancellation contract, or any fee for a debt suspension agreement; or
B) Any fee for a credit-related ancillary
product sold in connection with the credit transaction for closed-end credit or
an account for open-end credit.
3) Standards Relating to Bona Fide Fees
A) Like-kind fees. To assess whether a bona
fide fee is reasonable under subsection (d)(1), the fee must be compared to
fees typically imposed by other lenders for the same or a substantially similar
product or service. For example, when assessing a bona fide cash advance fee,
that fee must be compared to fees charged by other lenders for transactions in
which consumers receive extensions of credit in the form of cash or its
equivalent. Conversely, when assessing a foreign transaction fee, that fee may
not be compared to a cash advance fee because the foreign transaction fee
involves the service of exchanging the consumera's currency (e.g., a reserve
currency) for the local currency demanded by a merchant for a good or service,
and does not involve the provision of cash to the customer.
B) Safe harbor. A bona fide fee is reasonable
under subsection (d)(1) if the amount of the fee is less than or equal to an
average amount of a fee for the same or a substantially similar product or
service charged by 5 or more lenders each of whose U.S. credit cards in force
is at least $3 billion in an outstanding balance (or at least $3 billion in
loans on U.S. credit card accounts initially extended by the lender) at any
time during the 3-year period preceding the time such average is
computed.
C) Reasonable fee. A bona
fide fee that is higher than an average amount, as calculated under subsection
(d)(3)(B), also may be reasonable under subsection (d)(1) depending on other
factors relating to the credit card account. A bona fide fee charged by a
lender is not unreasonable solely because other lenders do not charge a fee for
the same or a substantially similar product or service.
D) Indicia of reasonableness for a
participation fee. An amount of a bona fide fee for participation in a credit
card account may be reasonable under subsection (d)(1) if that amount
reasonably corresponds to the credit limit in effect or credit made available
when the fee is imposed, to the services offered under the credit card account,
or to other factors relating to the credit card account. For example, even if
other lenders typically charge $100 per annum for participation in credit card
accounts, a $400 fee nevertheless may be reasonable if (relative to other
accounts carrying participation fees) the credit made available to the consumer
is significantly higher or additional services or other benefits are offered
under that account.
4)
Effect of Charging Fees on Bona Fide Fees
A)
Bona fide fees treated separately from charges for credit insurance products or
credit-related ancillary products. If a lender imposes a fee described in
subsection (c)(1) and imposes a finance charge to a consumer, the total amount
of the fees and finance charges shall be included in the PLPA APR pursuant to
subsection (c), and the imposition of any fee or finance charge described in
subsection (c)(1) shall not affect whether another type of fee may be excluded
as a bona fide fee under this subsection (d).
B) Effect of charges for non-bona fide fees.
If a lender imposes any fee (other than a periodic rate or a fee that must be
included in the PLPA APR pursuant to subsection (c)(1)) that is not a bona fide
fee and imposes a finance charge to a consumer, the total amount of those fees,
including any bona fide fees, and other finance charges shall be included in
the PLPA APR pursuant to subsection (c).
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