Georgia Administrative Code

If the MALPB wishes to establish any additional physical locations outside of its main office, the MALPB shall submit a written request to the Department seeking approval of the proposed location. The written request must detail the MALPB's rationale for seeking to have an additi…

(1) The Department shall examine or investigate all MALPBs at least once each year and may examine or investigate any MALPB more frequently at any time it deems such action necessary or desirable. At least once annually, the examination shall consist of a comprehensive review of …

(1) In the event the Department enters into an agreement with a third-party expert for the purpose of aiding the Department in evaluating an MALPB charter application or examining or investigating an MALPB, the agreement may provide, among other items, that: (a) All fees and cost…

(1) MALPBs must continuously maintain at least the minimum leverage capital ratio, PV capital, risk capital, and statutory capital requirements set forth in this rule. The capital standards in this part are the minimum acceptable for an MALPB whose overall financial condition is …

(1) All merchant funds shall be deposited immediately and shall remain in an account at a financial institution that is federally insured and authorized to do business in this State until paid over to the individual merchant; provided, however, that nothing herein shall preclude …

(1) Every MALPB shall obtain fidelity insurance coverage, such as a fidelity bond, to provide protection and indemnity against theft, defalcation, or other similar actions by officers and employees of the MALPB as well as agents and independent contractors of the MALPB, which inc…

(1) Every MALPB shall obtain data breach insurance coverage to provide protection and indemnity against the release of nonpublic confidential information in the legal care, custody or control of the MALPB to an untrusted or unauthorized environment or other similar action by the …

(1) Every MALPB shall continuously maintain a receivership letter of credit issued in favor of the Department to satisfy costs and expenses associated with a receivership of the MALPB. The letter of credit shall be in the principal sum of $100,000 or such greater amount as the De…

(1) No MALPB may enter into contractual debt obligations which in the aggregate are dependent upon revenues produced by the MALPB and any subsidiary of the MALPB for annual servicing during the term of the debt in excess of fifty (50) percent of the average annual consolidated ne…

(1) An MALPB that enters into a contract with an eligible organization or support organization shall provide the Department with written notice of the contract within thirty (30) days after execution of the contract. (2) An MALPB shall not execute a contract with an eligible orga…

An MALPB contracting with an eligible organization or a support organization must have sufficient controls in place to monitor and ensure that the services provided by the eligible organization or support organization on behalf of the MALPB comply with the Act and the Rules. The …

An MALPB has the ability to enter into contracts with third parties, which includes, but is not limited to, holding companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, eligible organizations, support organizations, independent contractors, and agents, to perform services related to the MALPB's …

(1) All transactions engaged in by an MALPB with its holding company or an affiliate must be on terms and under circumstances, including credit standards, that are substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the MALPB as those prevailing at the time for comparable transac…

(1) An MALPB can create a separate subsidiary to only carry out such activities that fall within the authorized scope of merchant acquiring activities as set forth in Rule . Prior to utilizing the subsidiary, the MALPB must submit an application for approval describing the activi…

(1) Except as expressly authorized by this Rule or with the prior written approval of the Department an MALPB shall be precluded from making any investments. An MALPB may invest in the following investments: (a) General obligations of the United States or of subsidiary corporatio…

The Board of Directors of any MALPB may declare and the MALPB may pay cash dividends as long as the Department has approved the proposed dividend in writing prior to the declaration and payment of the dividend. In evaluating any request for the payment of a dividend, the Departme…

(1) As used in Chapters 80-13-1, the terms that are defined in O.C.G.A. § 7-1-4 shall have the identical meaning. (2) As used in Chapters 80-13-1, the below terms shall be defined as follows unless the term is otherwise defined in a specific rule: (a) "External auditor" means an …

(1) Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 7-1-317, a trust company must maintain, at a minimum, $3 million in capital. The Department will evaluate the factors set forth in O.C.G.A. § 7-1-317 in analyzing a trust company's capital adequacy and may determine that the capital required is greater …

(1) Every trust company shall have an opinion audit of its books and records performed at least annually by a licensed external auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and procedures. The audit must be of sufficient scope to enable the auditor to render a…

(1) Internal Audit System. An institution should have an internal audit system that is appropriate to the size of the institution and the nature and scope of its activities. The internal audit system should consist of qualified persons. The internal audit system shall provide for…

A trust company shall have an audit committee. The audit committee must consist of a committee of the trust company's directors or directors of an affiliate of the trust company. However, in either case, the committee: (a) Must not include any officers of the trust company or an …

(1) Every stand-alone trust company chartered by the Department shall obtain the following: (a) Fidelity insurance coverage, such as a fidelity bond, to provide protection and indemnity against theft, defalcation, or other similar actions by officers and employees of the trust co…

(1) Before accepting a fiduciary account, a trust company shall review the prospective account to determine whether it can properly administer the account. (2) Upon the acceptance of a fiduciary account for which a trust company has investment discretion, the trust company shall …

(1) A trust company shall place assets of fiduciary accounts in the joint custody or control of not fewer than two of the fiduciary officers or employees designated for that purpose by the Board of Directors. A trust company may maintain the investments of a fiduciary account off…

If the Department is appointed receiver of a trust company or appoints a receiver of a trust company, the receiver shall promptly close or transfer to a substitute fiduciary all fiduciary accounts in accordance with Department instructions or the orders of the court having jurisd…

A trust company administering a collective investment fund authorized under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-313 shall comply with the following requirements: (1) The trust company shall develop, and the Board of Directors must approve, a collective investment fund plan that must contain appropria…

Subject to such further restrictions and approvals as its board of directors may set forth in its investment policy, a trust company may purchase, sell, and hold securities, for its own behalf, the following: (1) Debt Obligations. (a) Obligations of the United States Government o…

(1) Unless authorized by applicable law, a trust company may not invest funds of a fiduciary account for which a trust company has investment discretion in the stock or obligations of, or in assets acquired from: the trust company or any of its directors, officers, or employees; …

(1) The Board of Directors of any trust company may declare and the trust company may pay dividends on its outstanding capital stock without any requirement to notify the Department or request the approval of the Department if the aggregate amount of dividends declared or anticip…

(1) A state-chartered trust company may contract with another financial institution or a third party service provider to provide certain services in a principal-agent relationship, provided both parties comply with the applicable rules and regulations of the Department. (2) Agenc…

(1) Each third party service provider that enters into a service contract with a state-chartered trust company shall be subject to examination and regulation by the department as if the entity were a state financial institution, as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 7-1-72. (2) In the even…

(1) A licensee shall not engage in the business of installment lending at a location in this state unless the licensee has first received written approval from the Department. (2) The "main office" is the physical location indicated on the license application or amendments theret…

(1) A "location manager" shall mean an individual who supervises daily activities in Georgia of a licensee, whether at a main office or branch as defined in Rule , and regardless of job title. (2) No individual shall be permitted to manage a location in Georgia without being appr…

(1) As required by O.C.G.A. § 7-3-42(e), applicants and licensees must have commercial background checks performed on all covered employees, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 7-3-3(2). Employees of an applicant or licensee who are not engaged in the installment loan business are not cover…

Any advertisement of an installment loan that is subject to regulation under the Georgia Installment Loan Act ("Act") and that is made, published, disseminated or circulated in this state shall comply with the requirements set forth below. (a) Advertisements for installment loans…

(1) In the event that a licensee provides notice under applicable federal or state law of an information security incident involving unauthorized access to personal information, then the licensee shall simultaneously provide a duplicate of such disclosure to the Department. For p…

All licensees shall create and maintain an information security program to safeguard the nonpublic personal information of customers to the extent required by 16 C.F.R. Part 314 (the "Safeguards Rule"). As part of its regulatory oversight, the Department shall review, to the exte…

Each installment lender required to be licensed under the Georgia Installment Loan Act shall maintain a principal place of business on record with the Department at which its books and records are maintained and which is accessible to the Department for examination during normal …

Each licensee shall maintain the following books, accounts, and records: (a) Copies of all disclosure documents required by Rule Chapter 80-14-5; (b) Samples of advertisements as required by Rule ; (c) Copies of all written complaints by customers and written records of dispositi…

(1) Each licensee shall maintain a journal of installment loan transactions which shall include, at a minimum, the following information: (a) Full name of the borrower and any co-borrowers; (b) Loan Number; (c) Date of the loan; (d) Amount of the loan; and (e) Due date of the loa…

(1) Each installment lender shall maintain a loan file for each installment loan borrower. If there are multiple borrowers on one loan, the loan documents may be maintained in the loan file for the primary borrower or, alternatively, a loan file may be maintained for each borrowe…

(1) The Department establishes the following fines for violation of the Georgia Installment Loan Act ("Act") or its rules. Except as otherwise indicated, these fines apply to any person who is acting as an installment lender and any licensee under the Act. The Department, at its …

(1) The exemption from licensing provided pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 7-3-4(5) to an employee of a licensee, affiliate of a licensee, or exemptee applies only to natural persons who meet all of the following criteria: (a) (i) An employee must be employed by only one licensee or exempt…

(1) No person who has been an owner, director, trustee, or executive officer of a licensee that has had its license revoked, denied, or suspended, may perform any of those roles at another licensee for five years from the date of the final order. (2) Felony convictions; restricti…

(1) Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1, the Department is required to obtain an affidavit verifying the lawful presence of every natural person that submits an application for a license as an installment lender on behalf of an individual, business, corporation, partnership, limited l…

(1) License issuance and renewals. (a) All applications for new or renewal licenses must be made through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry ("NMLSR"). Fees for new applications include an initial Department investigation fee and the appropriate application fe…