2019 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 36a - The Banking Law of Connecticut
Chapter 668 - Nondepository Financial Institutions
Section 36a-555 - (Formerly Sec. 36-225). Definitions.

As used in this section and sections 36a-556 to 36a-573, inclusive:

(1) “Advertise” or “advertising” means any announcement, statement, assertion or representation that is placed before the public in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster, over any radio or television station, by means of the Internet, by other electronic means of distributing information, by personal contact, or in any other way or medium;

(2) “APR” means the annual percentage rate for the loan calculated according to the provisions of the federal Truth-in-Lending Act, 15 USC 1601 et seq., as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and the “disclosed APR” shall mean the APR disclosed, as applicable, pursuant to 12 CFR Section 1026.6 or 12 CFR Section 1026.18. If more than one APR is disclosed pursuant to 12 CFR Section 1026.6, the “disclosed APR” shall be the highest APR disclosed pursuant to said section;

(3) “Branch office” means a location other than the main office where the licensee, or any person on behalf of the licensee, will engage in activities that require a small loan license;

(4) “Connecticut borrower” means any borrower who resides in or maintains a domicile in this state and who (A) negotiates or agrees to the terms of the small loan in person, by mail, by telephone or via the Internet while physically present in this state, (B) enters into or executes a small loan agreement with the lender in person, by mail, by telephone or via the Internet while physically present in this state, or (C) makes a payment on the loan in this state. For purposes of this subdivision, “payment on the loan” includes a debit on an account the borrower holds in a branch of a financial institution or the use of a negotiable instrument drawn on an account at a financial institution. For purposes of this subdivision, “financial institution” means any bank or credit union chartered or licensed under the laws of this state, any other state or the United States and having its main office or a branch office in this state;

(5) “Control person” means an individual that directly or indirectly exercises control over another person, and includes any person that (A) is a director, general partner or executive officer; (B) in the case of a corporation, directly or indirectly has the right to vote ten per cent or more of a class of any voting security or has the power to sell or direct the sale of ten per cent or more of any class of voting securities; (C) in the case of a limited liability company, is a managing member; or (D) in the case of a partnership, has the right to receive upon dissolution, or has contributed, ten per cent or more of the capital. For purposes of this subdivision, “control” means the power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of a company, whether through ownership of securities, by contract or otherwise;

(6) “Generating leads” means (A) engaging in the business of selling leads for small loans; (B) generating or augmenting leads for small loans for other persons for or with the expectation of compensation or gain; or (C) referring consumers to other persons for a small loan for or with the expectation of compensation or gain for such referral, except “generating leads” shall not include generating or augmenting leads for small loans for an exempt person, as described in subsection (b) of section 36a-557, using the exempt person’s data or customer information;

(7) “Lead” means any information identifying a potential consumer of a small loan;

(8) “Main office” means the main address designated on the system;

(9) “Open-end small loan” has the same meaning as “open-end credit”, as defined in 12 CFR 1026.2, as amended from time to time;

(10) “Person” means a natural person, corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership or association;

(11) “Small loan” means any loan of money or extension of credit, or the purchase of, or an advance of money on, a borrower’s future income where the following conditions are present: (A) The amount or value is fifteen thousand dollars or less; and (B) the APR is greater than twelve per cent. For purposes of this subdivision, “future income” means any future potential source of money, and expressly includes, but is not limited to, a future pay or salary, pension or tax refund. For purposes of this section and sections 36a-556 to 36a-573, inclusive, “small loan” shall not include: (i) A retail installment contract made in accordance with section 36a-772; (ii) a loan or extension of credit for agricultural, commercial, industrial or governmental use; (iii) a residential mortgage loan, as defined in section 36a-485; or (iv) an open-end credit account that is accessed by a credit card issued by an exempt entity, as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 36a-557;

(12) “Trigger lead” means a consumer report obtained pursuant to Section 604(C)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681b, where the issuance of the report is triggered by an inquiry made with a consumer reporting agency in response to an application for credit. “Trigger lead” does not include a consumer report obtained by a small loan lender that holds or services existing indebtedness of the applicant who is the subject of the report; and

(13) “Unique identifier” means a number or other identifier assigned by protocols established by the system.

(1949 Rev., S. 5937; 1949, S. 2753d; 1957, P.A. 439, S. 1; 1963, P.A. 175, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 242, S. 1; P.A. 77-129, S. 1; 77-183, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-121, S. 71, 113; 78-303, S. 50, 136; P.A. 87-9, S. 2, 3; P.A. 88-65, S. 33; P.A. 89-338, S. 1; P.A. 92-12, S. 65; P.A. 94-122, S. 258, 340; P.A. 97-13, S. 1; P.A. 98-264; P.A. 02-111, S. 34; P.A. 04-69, S. 19; P.A. 08-176, S. 58; P.A. 09-208, S. 40; 09-209, S. 18; P.A. 15-235, S. 13; P.A. 16-65, S. 19; P.A. 17-233, S. 12.)

History: 1963 act increased limit from $600 to $1,000 and added reference to charge or consideration in provision re 12% interest; 1969 act increased limit to $1,800 and deleted reference to loans of “goods or things in action”; P.A. 77-129 increased limit to $5,000; P.A. 77-183 authorized loans by building or savings and loan associations and wholly owned subsidiary service corporations; P.A. 78-121 included federal credit unions, deleted private bankers and referred to savings and loan associations rather than “building or” savings and loan associations in authority to make loans; P.A. 78-303 replaced banking commission with banking commissioner in keeping with requirements of P.A. 77-614 which repealed the commission; (Revisor’s note: Pursuant to P.A. 87-9 “banking commissioner” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “commissioner of banking”); P.A. 88-65 deleted a reference to industrial banks; P.A. 89-338 increased the limit from $5,000 to $10,000 for loans made under Sec. 36-233b, clarified that the section applies to out-of-state institutions and added the exception for entities making loans for agricultural, commercial, industrial or governmental use or extending credit through certain open-end credit plans; P.A. 92-12 made technical changes; P.A. 94-122 made technical changes, effective January 1, 1995; Sec. 36-225 transferred to Sec. 36a-555 in 1995; P.A. 97-13 increased limit from $5,000 to $15,000 for loans made under Sec. 36a-563, deleted reference to limit of $10,000 for loans made under Sec. 36a-565, and made reference to limit of $15,000 applicable to loans made under Sec. 36a-565 to conform to existing provisions of Sec. 36a-565; P.A. 98-264 added exceptions for licensed nondepository first mortgage lenders and secondary mortgage lenders and made technical changes; P.A. 02-111 amended Subdiv. (8) by deleting “nondepository first” and amended Subdiv. (9) by deleting “secondary”; P.A. 04-69 made technical changes, and amended Subdiv. (8) by substituting “36a-498a” for “36a-498” and inserting “when making first mortgage loans, as defined in section 36a-485”, and amended Subdiv. (9) by inserting “when making secondary mortgage loans, as defined in section 36a-510”; P.A. 08-176 added reference to “mortgage correspondent lender” in Subdiv. (8), deleted former Subdiv. (9), renumbered existing Subdiv. (10) as new Subdiv. (9) and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 09-208 inserted Subdiv. (1) designator, added Subdivs. (2) and (3) re loan prohibitions and made conforming changes; P.A. 09-209 replaced reference to Secs. 36a-485 to 36a-498a with reference to Sec. 36a-489 and changed “first mortgage loans” to “residential mortgage loans”, effective July 31, 2009; P.A. 15-235 replaced reference to Sec. 36a-676(a)(8) with reference to 15 USC 1602, effective August 1, 2015; P.A. 16-65 replaced former provisions with introductory language and Subdivs. (1) to (13) re definitions, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 17-233 amended Subdiv. (8) by redefining “main office”.