Title 81, Banks and Financial Institutions

A licensee may not enter into an agreement to find and obtain a consumer loan for a borrower unless the agreement is in writing. The contract shall indicate a range acceptable to the borrower of the financing terms, the interest rate, loan charges and fees, and any other charges.…

(1) No consumer loan broker may:(a) Charge or collect any service charge or advance fee from a borrower unless and until a loan is actually found, obtained and closed for that borrower, and in no event shall a service charge exceed three percent (3%) of the original principal amo…

(1) A licensee shall retain a complete record of each transaction under this chapter for a period of two (2) years from the date of the closing of the loan. The commissioner may prescribe by regulation the form and nature of the records to be retained. (2) All records must be hou…

(1) Loan charges and fees collected on behalf of a lender by the licensee from a borrower shall be deposited and kept in an account maintained solely for that purpose and totally apart and separate from the monies of the licensee. (2) Withdrawals of loan charges and fees from the…

(1) After notice and hearing, the commissioner may suspend or revoke any license if he finds that the licensee has knowingly and without exercising due care:(a) Failed to pay the annual license fee imposed by this chapter or an examination fee imposed by the commissioner under au…

(a) As used in this chapter:(a) “Advance fee” means any consideration which is assessed or collected prior to the closing of a loan.(b) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Banking and Consumer Finance.(c) “Consumer loan” means a transaction by which a lender extends credit f…

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and specifically Section 75-17-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, a service charge as defined in this chapter shall not be construed to be finance charge or interest when paid to a licensed consumer loan broker by a borrower, or by …

The failure of a licensed consumer loan broker to comply with this chapter in the finding and obtaining of a consumer loan for a borrower shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any debt, mortgage, deed of trust or any other lien interest in real or personal property,…

When any license application is denied or any active license is revoked, the applicant or licensee has a right to a hearing before the commissioner at which the applicant or licensee may be represented by counsel. The demand for a hearing shall be in writing and shall be made wit…

No person shall engage in the business of being a consumer loan broker before posting the bond and obtaining the license as required by this chapter. Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this chapter does not apply to:(a) Banks, bank holding companies, credit unions, insurance companies, savings and loan associations, savings banks, savings and loan association holding companies, small loan licensees, pawnbrokers,…

(1) An application to become licensed as a consumer loan broker shall be in writing, under oath and in a form prescribed by the commissioner, and shall contain:(a) The full name and address of the applicant;(b) The street address, municipality and county of the proposed licensed …

(a) The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Banking and Consumer Finance.(b) “Person” means an individual, partnership, association, business corporation, n…

The commissioner, or his duly authorized representative, for the purpose of discovering violations of this chapter and for the purpose of determining whether persons are subject to the provisions of this chapter, may examine persons licensed under this chapter and persons reasona…

(1) A premium finance company shall maintain records of its premium finance transactions. (2) A premium finance company shall preserve its records of premium finance transactions, including preservation by means of electronic data processing or computer records, for at least two …

(a) A premium finance agreement shall:(a) Be dated and signed by or on behalf of the insured, and the printed portion thereof shall be in at least eight-point type;(b) Contain the name and place of business of the insurance agent or broker negotiating the related insurance contra…

(1) A premium finance company shall not charge, contract for, receive or collect any interest or service charge other than as permitted in this section. (2) The interest is to be computed on the balance of the premiums due, after subtracting the down payment made by the insured i…

(1) A premium finance agreement may provide for the payment by the insured of a delinquency charge of up to five percent (5%) of any installment which is in default for a period of more than five (5) days. If the premium finance agreement is primarily for personal, family or hous…

(1) When a premium finance agreement contains a power of attorney clause enabling the premium finance company to cancel any insurance contract or contracts listed in the agreement, the insurance contract or contracts shall not be cancelled by the premium finance company unless su…

(1) Whenever a financed insurance contract is cancelled, the insurer shall return to the premium finance company as soon as reasonably possible whatever gross unearned premiums are due under the insurance contract, and also shall furnish to the premium finance company a report se…

No filing of the premium finance agreement shall be necessary to perfect the validity of such agreement as a secured transaction as against creditors, subsequent purchasers, pledgees, encumbrancers, trustees in bankruptcy or any other insolvency proceeding under any law or anyone…

All revenues collected by or paid to the commissioner under the provisions of Section 81-21-9 shall be forwarded immediately to the State Treasurer, who shall deposit them into the special fund in the State Treasury designated as the “Consumer Finance Fund.”

(a) This chapter shall not apply to:(a) The financing of insurance premiums by any seller who sells goods or services pursuant to an installment sales contract in which a time price differential is charged, or to any savings and loan association, savings bank, bank, trust company…

(1) No person shall engage in the business of a premium finance company in this state without first having obtained a license as a premium finance company from the commissioner. (2) With each initial application for a license, the applicant shall pay to the commissioner at the ti…

(1) Upon the filing of an application and the payment of the license fee, the commissioner shall make an investigation of each applicant and shall issue a license if the application is qualified in accordance with this chapter. If the commissioner does not so find, he or she, at …

(1) The commissioner may revoke or suspend the license of any premium finance company when after investigation the commissioner finds that:(a) The license was obtained by material misrepresentation or fraud;(b) The holder of the license has shown himself untrustworthy or incompet…

(1) In lieu of revoking or suspending the license for any of the causes enumerated in this chapter, after a hearing as provided in Section 81-21-7, the commissioner may subject the company to a penalty not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each offense when the commiss…

This chapter may be known and cited as the “Mississippi Debt Management Services Act.”

(1) Written agreement. A debt management service provider may not perform debt management services for a consumer unless the consumer and the debt management service provider first have executed a written agreement with regard to the debt management services to be provided. A cop…

(a) A debt service management provider may only charge a consumer the following fees for providing debt management services:(a) A maintenance fee not to exceed Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per month after a consumer has received a free initial counseling session;(b) A one-time setup f…

(1) Written reports to consumers. A debt management service provider shall provide to each consumer receiving debt management services periodic written reports accounting for funds received from the consumer for payment to the consumer’s creditor or creditors whose obligations ar…

(a) Complaint investigation. The commissioner may exercise the following powers and functions:(a) Complaint investigation. The commissioner may receive and act on complaints, take action to obtain voluntary compliance with this chapter or refer cases to the Attorney General, who …

(a) Purchase debt. A debt management service provider may not:(a) Purchase debt. Purchase any debt or obligation of a consumer;(b) Lend money. Lend money or provide credit to any consumer;(c) Mortgage interest. Obtain a mortgage or other security interest in property of a consume…

(1) False advertising. A debt management service provider may not engage in this state in false or misleading advertising concerning the terms and conditions of any services or assistance offered. (2) Required words. A debt management service provider may not advertise its servic…

(1) Violations; unfair, unconscionable or deceptive practices. A debt management service provider that violates any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted by the commissioner, or that through any unfair, unconscionable or deceptive practice causes actual damage to a consum…

(1) Suspension or revocation. After notice and hearing, the commissioner may suspend or revoke a debt management service provider’s license if the commissioner finds that one of the conditions of subsection (2) of this section is met. (2) Conditions for suspension or revocation. …

The commissioner may employ the necessary full-time employees above the number of permanent full-time employees authorized for the department for the fiscal year 2003, to carry out and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The commissioner also may expend the necessary funds an…

(1) If a licensee seeks to utilize a third-party payment processor, to hold, have access to, effectuate possession of, by any means, or to distribute or be in the chain of distribution of the monies of another licensee’s consumers, the licensee shall give the Department of Bankin…

(a) As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Banking and Consumer Finance of the State of Mississippi.(b) “Debt management service” means:(i) The receiving of mone…

(1) Licensure and relicensure. No person or entity may act as a debt management service provider with respect to consumers who are residents of this state without a license issued under this chapter. The license application must be in a form prescribed by the commissioner. The co…

To be eligible for a license, an applicant shall file with the commissioner a bond with good security in the penal sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), payable to the State of Mississippi for the faithful performance by the licensee of the duties and obligations pertaining…

(1) Funds deposited in escrow account. The debt management service provider shall deposit, within two (2) business days of receipt, all funds received from or on behalf of a consumer for payment to a creditor or creditors in a federally insured escrow account for the benefit of t…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Interstate Bank Branching Act.”

(a) Not later than the date on which the required application is filed with the responsible federal bank supervisory agency, a Mississippi state bank seeking to establish one or more branches in a state other than the State of Mississippi pursuant to an interstate branching trans…

Any out-of-state state bank that will be the resulting bank pursuant to an interstate branching transaction involving a Mississippi state bank shall notify the commissioner of the proposed transaction not later than the date on which it files an application for an interstate bran…

(1) An out-of-state bank which establishes and maintains one or more branches in the State of Mississippi under this chapter may conduct any activities at such branch or branches that are authorized under the laws of the State of Mississippi for Mississippi state banks. (2) A Mis…