Missouri Modifies Provisions Regarding Fees
By Zachary Pearlstein, J.D.
Effective immediately, the General Assembly of Missouri has updated several sections of the Missouri Revised Statutes relating to financial transactions. The Assembly has increased various fees, which have been underlined below.
Section 361.707
1. Each application for a license pursuant to sections 361.700 to 361.727 shall be in writing and under oath to the director in such form as he may prescribe. The application shall state the full name and business address of: (1) The proprietor, if the applicant is an individual; (2) Every member, if the applicant is a partnership or association; (3) The corporation and each officer and director thereof, if the applicant is a corporation.
2. Each application for a license shall be accompanied by an investigation fee of three hundred dollars. If the license is granted the investigation fee shall be applied to the license fee for the first year. No investigation fee shall be refunded.
Section 361.715
1. Upon the filing of the application, the filing of a certified audit, the payment of the investigation fee and the approval by the director of the necessary bond, the director shall cause, investigate, and determine whether the character, responsibility, and general fitness of the principals of the applicant or any affiliates are such as to command confidence and warrant belief that the business of the applicant will be conducted honestly and efficiently and that the applicant is in compliance with all other applicable state and federal laws. If satisfied, the director shall issue to the applicant a license pursuant to the provisions of sections 361.700 to 361.727. In processing a renewal license, the director shall require the same information and follow the same procedures described in this subsection.
2. Each licensee shall pay to the director before the issuance of the license, and annually thereafter on or before April fifteenth of each year, a license fee of three hundred dollars.
3. The director may assess a reasonable charge, not to exceed three hundred dollars, for any application to amend and reissue an existing license.
Section 364.030
1. No person shall engage in the business of a financing institution in this state without a license therefor as provided in this chapter; except, however, that no bank, trust company, loan and investment company, licensed sales finance company, registrant under the provisions of sections 367.100 to 367.200, or person who makes only occasional purchases of retail time contracts or accounts under retail charge agreements and which purchases are not being made in the course of repeated or successive purchase of retail installment contracts from the same seller, shall be required to obtain a license under this chapter but shall comply with all the laws of this state applicable to the conduct and operation of a financing institution.
2. The application for the license shall be in writing, under oath and in the form prescribed by the director. The application shall contain the name of the applicant; date of incorporation, if incorporated; the address where the business is or is to be conducted and similar information as to any branch office of the applicant; the name and resident address of the owner or partners or, if a corporation or association, of the directors, trustees and principal officers, and other pertinent information as the director may require.
3. The license fee for each calendar year or part thereof shall be the sum of five hundred dollars for each place of business of the licensee in this state which shall be paid into the general revenue fund. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
Section 364.105
1. No person shall engage in the business of a premium finance company in this state without first registering as a premium finance company with the director.
2. The annual registration fee shall be five hundred dollars payable to the director as of the first day of July of each year. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
3. Registration shall be made on forms prepared by the director and shall contain the following information:
(1) Name, business address and telephone number of the premium finance company;
(2) Name and business address of corporate officers and directors or principals or partners;
(3) A sworn statement by an appropriate officer, principal or partner of the premium finance company that:
(a) The premium finance company is financially capable to engage in the business of insurance premium financing; and
(b) If a corporation, that the corporation is authorized to transact business in this state;
(4) If any material change occurs in the information contained in the registration form, a revised statement shall be submitted to the director accompanied by an additional fee of three hundred dollars.
Section 365.030
1. No person shall engage in the business of a sales finance company in this state without a license as provided in this chapter; except, that no bank, trust company, savings and loan association, loan and investment company or registrant under the provisions of sections 367.100 to 367.200 authorized to do business in this state is required to obtain a license under this chapter but shall comply with all of the other provisions of this chapter.
2. The application for the license shall be in writing, under oath and in the form prescribed by the director. The application shall contain the name of the applicant; date of incorporation, if incorporated; the address where the business is or is to be conducted and similar information as to any branch office of the applicant; the name and resident address of the owner or partners or, if a corporation or association, of the directors, trustees and principal officers, and such other pertinent information as the director may require.
3. The license fee for each calendar year or part thereof shall be the sum of five hundred dollars for each place of business of the licensee in this state. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
Section 367.140
1. Every lender shall, at the time of filing application for certificate of registration as provided in section 367.120 hereof, pay the sum of five hundred dollars as an annual registration fee for the period ending the thirtieth day of June next following the date of payment and in full payment of all expenses for investigations, examinations and for the administration of sections 367.100 to 367.200, except as provided in section 367.160, and thereafter a like fee shall be paid on or before June thirtieth of each year; provided, that if a lender is supervised by the commissioner of finance under any other law, the charges for examination and supervision required to be paid under said law shall be in lieu of the annual fee for registration and examination required under this section. The fee shall be made payable to the director of revenue. If the initial registration fee for any certificate of registration is for a period of less than twelve months, the registration fee shall be prorated according to the number of months that said period shall run. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
Section 407.640
1. A credit services organization shall file a registration statement with the director of finance before conducting business in this state. The registration statement must contain:
(1) The name and address of the credit services organization; and
(2) The name and address of any person who directly or indirectly owns or controls ten percent or more of the outstanding shares of stock in the credit services organization.
2. The registration statement must also contain either:
(1) A full and complete disclosure of any litigation or unresolved complaint filed by or with a governmental authority of this state relating to the operation of the credit services organization; or
(2) A notarized statement that states that there has been no litigation or unresolved complaint filed by or with a governmental authority of this state relating to the operation of the credit services organization.
3. The credit services organization shall update the statement not later than the ninetieth day after the date on which a change in the information required in the statement occurs.
4. Each credit services organization registering under this section shall maintain a copy of the registration statement in the office of the credit services organization. The credit services organization shall allow a buyer to inspect the registration statement on request.
5. The director of finance may charge each credit services organization that files a registration statement with the director of finance a reasonable fee not to exceed three hundred dollars to cover the cost of filing. The director of finance may not require a credit services organization to provide information other than that provided in the registration statement as part of the registration process.
Section 408.140
1. No further or other charge or amount whatsoever shall be directly or indirectly charged, contracted for or received for interest, service charges or other fees as an incident to any such extension of credit except as provided and regulated by sections 367.100 to 367.200 and except:
(1) On loans for thirty days or longer which are other than “open-end credit” as such term is defined in the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act and regulations thereunder, a fee, not to exceed ten percent of the principal amount loaned not to exceed one hundred dollars may be charged by the lender; however, no such fee shall be permitted on any extension, refinance, restructure or renewal of any such loan, unless any investigation is made on the application to extend, refinance, restructure or renew the loan;
Section 408.500
1. Lenders, other than banks, trust companies, credit unions, savings banks and savings and loan companies, in the business of making unsecured loans of five hundred dollars or less shall obtain a license from the director of the division of finance. An annual license fee of five hundred dollars per location shall be required. The license year shall commence on January first each year and the license fee may be prorated for expired months. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time. The provisions of this section shall not apply to pawnbroker loans, consumer credit loans as authorized under chapter 367, nor to a check accepted and deposited or cashed by the payee business on the same or the following business day. The disclosures required by the federal Truth in Lending Act and regulation Z shall be provided on any loan, renewal or extension made pursuant to this section and the loan, renewal or extension documents shall be signed by the borrower.
Zachary Pearlstein, JD, is a Regulatory Compliance Director with CLA's Mortgage Advisory Division. He joined CLA on January 1, 2014, as part of its acquisition of Bankers Advisory, Inc. Zachary oversees Mortgage Advisory's regulatory compliance team, which focuses on federal and state compliance, fair lending, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). He is a graduate of Brandeis University and earned his juris doctor at Suffolk University Law School. He is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
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