Sec. 45.45.080. Money lenders may collect interest in advance.

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(a)A lender of money may, either upon the security of personal property or otherwise, charge and receive interest in advance.

(b)In the case of a secured or unsecured instrument loan not exceeding the principal amount of $10,000, not including interest, which is repayable in substantially equal installments over a period not exceeding seven years, a lender of money may contract for a charge at a rate not exceeding $6 a year for each $100 (true annual interest rate for “add-on method” of computation at a rate not to exceed 11.1 percent; or true annual interest rate for “discount method” of computation at a rate not to exceed 11.8 percent) upon the original face amount of the instrument evidencing the loan for the entire period of the loan. This charge may be collected in advance. However, if the unpaid balance outstanding on a loan is paid before maturity, the lender shall give a refund or credit of the unearned portion of the charge, which refund or credit represents at least as great a proportion of the original charge as the sum of the periodical time balances after the date of prepayment bears to the sum of all the periodical time balances under the schedule of payments in the original instrument. The lender is not required to refund or credit any portion of the unearned charge that would result in a net charge on a loan less than the minimum charge provided for in this section, or to make a refund or credit where the amount of the refund or credit computed as set out in this section would be less than $5 for each loan paid before the maturity date.

(c)No additional amount may be charged or contracted for on or in connection with an installment loan provided for in

(b)of this section except the following:

(1)delinquency charges not to exceed five cents for each $1 of each installment more than 15 days in arrears, except that the total delinquency charges on an installment loan may not exceed $15, and only one delinquency charge may be made on each installment;

(2)premiums paid by the lender for insurance required or obtained as security for or by reason of the installment loan;

(3)the amounts necessary to reimburse the lender for fees paid to a public officer for filing, recording, or releasing any instrument or lien; and

(4)the actual expenditures, including reasonable attorneys' fees for legal process or proceedings, to secure or collect the installment loan.

(d)Advertising concerning such installment loans that contains a statement of an amount, or rate of charge, must also contain the percentage rate, either per month or per year, computed on declining balances of the face amount of the loan instrument to which the charge would be equivalent if the loan were repaid according to contract. This advertising requirement may be complied with by stating the equivalent percentage rate that would earn the charge for a loan repayable in 12 equal consecutive monthly installments, and the stated rate may be closely approximate, rather than exact, if the statement so indicates. This requirement does not apply to an advertisement in which an amount, or rate of charge, is indicated only by a table that contains and is confined to examples of the face amount of the loan instrument, the proceeds to the borrower exclusive of the charge, and the amount, number, and intervals of the required payments.