Title 13, Title 13. Commercial Transactions

(A)(1) No person shall do either of the following without first having obtained a license from the superintendent of financial institutions under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code: (a) Engage in the business of lending money under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of th…

Sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code do not apply to any of the following:(A) Any credit transaction with a loan term of less than six months from the loan transaction date;(B) Any credit transaction that does not require equal monthly payments, unless either of the f…

A licensee may engage in the business of making loans provided the licensee does not do any of the following: (A) Assess an origination fee pursuant to section 1321.68 of the Revised Code more than three times in any twelve-month period; (B) Accept a dated instrument from the bor…

(A) An application for a license shall contain an undertaking by the applicant to abide by those sections. The application shall be in writing, under oath, and in the form prescribed by the superintendent of financial institutions, and shall contain any information that the super…

(A) A license issued under section 1321.64 of the Revised Code may be renewed annually on or before the thirty-first day of December by submitting a renewal application in the form prescribed by the superintendent of financial institutions. The application shall be accompanied by…

(A) If there is a change of five per cent or more in the ownership of a licensee, the division of financial institutions may make any investigation necessary to determine whether any fact or condition exists that, if it had existed at the time of the original application for a li…

(A)(1) Not more than one place of business shall be maintained under the same license, but the superintendent of financial institutions may issue additional licenses to the same licensee upon compliance with sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code. (2) Each licensed plac…

No person engaged in the business of selling tangible goods or services related to tangible goods may receive or retain a license under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code for such place of business.

Each licensee that conducts business under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code shall maintain both of the following: (A) A net worth of at least fifty thousand dollars; (B) For each license, assets of at least fifty thousand dollars either in use or readily available…

All of the following apply to advertising for loans made under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code: (A) Every advertisement shall state and clearly indicate the identity of the licensee and shall do so in such a manner that prevents confusion with the name of any oth…

( A) Records a licensee is required to maintain shall be kept current and be available at a licensed location at all times during normal business hours for review by the superintendent. Records must be legible and maintained in a type size that is clearly readable without magnifi…

(A) Each licensee shall submit to the NMLSR call reports or other reports of condition, which reports shall be in such form and shall contain such information as the NMLSR may require. (B)(1) As required by the superintendent of financial institutions, each licensee shall file wi…

(A)(1) The following information is confidential: (a) Examination information, and any information leading to or arising from an examination; (b) Investigation information, and any information arising from or leading to an investigation. (2) The information described in division …

No person, in connection with any examination or investigation conducted by the superintendent of financial institutions under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code shall knowingly do any of the following: (A) Circumvent, interfere with, obstruct, or fail to cooperate …

In order to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and related harms, including identity theft, licensees shall comply with the provisions of the "Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003," 117 Stat. 1952 (amended 2010), 15 U.S.C. 1681w, as in effect on November 30, 2016, the…

Before ceasing to conduct or discontinuing business as a licensee, the licensee shall arrange for and be responsible for the preservation of the books and records required to be maintained and preserved under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code and shall notify the d…

The superintendent of financial institutions may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew any license issued by the superintendent under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code, or bring any other authorized administrative enforcement action in accordance with section 1321.70…

(A) Except as otherwise provided in section 9.02 of the Revised Code, any party, including a governmental authority, that requires or requests a licensee to assemble or provide a customer's financial records shall pay the licensee for all actual and necessary costs directly incur…

(A) For purposes of sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code, a loan shall be considered closed upon the signature of the obligor or obligors, unless the loan contract is not executed by signature, in which case the loan is considered closed upon disbursement of loan fund…

(A) Upon repayment of the loan in full, the original note signed by any obligor or copy, photograph, or stored representation of the original note as retained in accordance with section 1321.66 of the Revised Code shall be plainly marked "paid" or "canceled" and the note or the r…

(A) When, in connection with a loan, a licensee furnishes or places insurance written on behalf of the borrower at the borrower's expense, a policy or certificate of insurance properly executed shall be furnished to the borrower within fifteen days of the closing date of the loan…

No licensee shall conduct the business of making loans under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code in any office, room, or place of business in which any other business is solicited or engaged in, or in association or conjunction with any other such business, if the su…

(A) Any person that willfully violates section 1321.68 of the Revised Code shall forfeit to the borrower the amount of interest paid by the borrower. The maximum rate of interest applicable to any loan transaction that does not comply with section 1321.68 of the Revised Code shal…

(A) A licensee may contract for and receive interest, calculated according to the actuarial method, at a rate or rates not exceeding twenty-five per cent per year on the unpaid principal balances of the loan. Loans may be interest-bearing or precomputed. (B) For purposes of compu…

(A) For open-end loans, "billing cycle" means the time interval between periodic billing dates. A billing cycle shall be considered monthly if the closing date of the cycle is the same date each month or does not vary by more than four days from such date. (B) A licensee may make…

(A) A licensee shall not permit any borrower to be indebted for a loan made under sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code at any time while the borrower is also indebted to an affiliate or agent of the licensee for a loan made under sections 1321.01 to 1321.19 or section…

(A) As used in this section, "remote location" means the home of an employee or other location selected by the employee that is not a licensed place of business. (B) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, nothing in sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the …

(A) The division of financial institutions may, upon written notice to the licensee stating the contemplated action, the grounds for the action, and the licensee's reasonable opportunity to be heard on the action in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, revoke, suspen…

(A) The attorney general may directly bring an action to enjoin a violation of sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code with the same rights, privileges, and powers as those described in section 1345.06 of the Revised Code. The prosecuting attorney of the county in which …

The superintendent of financial institutions may adopt, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, rules that are necessary for the enforcement of sections 1321.62 to 1321.702 of the Revised Code and that are consistent with those sections. Each rule shall contain a ref…

As used in sections 1321.71 to 1321.83 of the Revised Code:(A) "Annual percentage rate" means the ratio of the finance charges, as authorized by sections 1321.79 and 1321.791 of the Revised Code, on a loan to the unpaid principal balance on the loan for any period of time, expres…

Except as provided in division (D) of section 1321.78, sections 1321.71 to 1321.83 of the Revised Code do not apply with respect to any of the following:(A) Life, property, or casualty insurance companies authorized to do business in this state as to policies issued by those comp…

(A) No person shall engage in the business of entering into or otherwise acquiring premium finance agreements in the state without first having obtained a license as a premium finance company from the division of financial institutions. (B) The annual license fee shall be determi…

(A) Application for a license as a premium finance company shall be in writing, under oath, in the form prescribed by the division of financial institutions. An applicant also shall provide the form of premium finance agreement it intends to use in doing business under sections 1…

(A) The division of financial institutions may revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a license of any premium finance company if, after investigation, it appears to the division that:(1) Any license issued to the company was obtained by fraud;(2) There was any misrepresentation in …

(A) Each licensee shall keep records of its insurance premium finance transactions conducted under sections 1321.71 to 1321.83 of the Revised Code. Such records shall be maintained separately from any records pertaining to transactions that are not subject to those sections. Each…

The division of financial institutions may adopt, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, rules that are necessary for the enforcement of sections 1321.71 to 1321.83 of the Revised Code and that are consistent with those sections. Each rule shall contain a reference …

(A) A premium finance agreement shall: (1) Be dated, signed by the insured, and the printed portion thereof shall be in at least eight-point type;(2) Contain the name and place of business of the insurance agent or broker negotiating the related insurance contract, the name and r…

(A) A premium finance company shall not charge, contract for, receive, or collect a finance charge other than as permitted by sections 1321.71 to 1321.83 of the Revised Code.(B) The finance charge shall be computed on the balance of the premium due, after subtracting the down pay…

As an alternative to the finance charges permitted by division (C) of section 1321.79 of the Revised Code, a premium finance company may contract for and receive finance charges at any rate or rates agreed upon or consented to by the parties to the premium finance agreement or re…

A premium finance agreement may provide for the payment by the insured of any of the following:(A) A delinquency charge of not more than five per cent of any installment that is in default for a period of more than five days. If the insurance policies described in the premium fin…

(A) When a premium finance agreement contains a power of attorney authorizing 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 the ca…

(A) Whenever a financed insurance policy is cancelled, the insurer that has been notified pursuant to division (C) of section 1321.78 of the Revised Code shall, not later than sixty days after the date of cancellation, return whatever gross unearned premium is due under the insur…

No filing provisions of Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code apply to insurance premium finance agreements, and no filing of the premium finance agreement is necessary to perfect the validity of such agreements as a secured transaction as against creditors, subsequent purchasers, pl…

On receipt of a notice pursuant to section 3123.43 of the Revised Code, the division of consumer finance shall comply with sections 3123.41 to 3123.50 of the Revised Code and any applicable rules adopted under section 3123.63 of the Revised Code with respect to a license, certifi…

(A) Whoever violates section 1321.02 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.(B) Whoever violates section 1321.13 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.…