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Maine.gov > PFR Home > Bureau of Financial Institutions > Regulations > Regulation # 38

02-029
Chapter 138 (Regulation 38)
Truth-in-Lending, Regulation Z-2

SUMMARY:

This rule was originally promulgated in 1981 and re-promulgated in 1986, 1989, 1992, 1997 and 1998. The joint rule, which repeals and replaces both Bureau of Financial Institutions Chapter 138 (Regulation 38) and Office of Consumer Credit Regulation Chapter 240, adopts the Federal Truth-in-Lending regulations by reference so as to implement Article VIII of the Maine Consumer Credit Code. This rule describes how the cost of credit and leases must be disclosed to consumers and how billing errors must be resolved in open-end credit.

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY

This rule is being adopted pursuant to 9-A M.R.S.A. § 6-104 and § 8-104 by the Office of Consumer Credit Regulation and the Bureau of Financial Institutions, as the agencies responsible for the administration of the Maine Consumer Credit Code for supervised lenders and supervised financial organizations.

SECTION 2. PURPOSE

This rule is being promulgated to adopt the Federal Truth-in-Lending regulations by reference in order to implement Article VIII of the Maine Consumer Credit Code.

SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS

  1. "Administrator" means a person as defined in 9-A M.R.S.A. §1-301(2).
  2. "Code" means the Maine Consumer Credit Code, Title 9-A M.R.S.A.

SECTION 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Except as provided below, the Administrators hereby adopt all provisions of Regulation Z (12 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 226 (2002))1, including all appendices, and Regulation M (12 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 213 (2002))2, as adopted and amended by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System pursuant to Title I (Truth-in-Lending Act) and Title V (General Provisions) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §1601 et. seq. (May 29, 1968)).

The following provisions of Regulations Z and M are not adopted:

  1. Reg. Z, § 226.2(a)(6), the definition of the term "business day," to the extent it differs from the definition of "business day" in section 1-301(6-A) of the Code;
    • 1 Copies of 12 CFR Part 226 may be obtained at cost from either the Bureau of Financial Institutions or the Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, or from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02106 tel. (617) 973-3000. In addition, a copy may be obtained via the Internet at http://www.federalreserve.gov/Regulations/RegRef.htm#z.
    • 2Copies of 12 CFR Part 213 may be obtained at cost from the Bureau of Financial Institutions or from the Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, or from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02106 tel. (617) 973-3000. In addition, a copy may be obtained via the Internet at http://www.federalreserve.gov/Regulations/RegRef.htm#m.
  2. Reg. Z, § 226.2(a)(14), the definition of the term "credit," to the extent it differs from the definition of "credit" in section 1-301(15) of the Code;
  3. Reg. Z, § 226.2(a)(16), the definition of the term "credit sale," to the extent it differs from the definition of "consumer credit sale" in section 1-301(11) of the Code;
  4. Reg. Z, § 226.3(b), which exempts credit (other than credit secured by real property) over $25,000, to the extent there is conflict with section 1-301, subsection 11(A)(vi) (which extends the provisions of the Code to debts secured by manufactured housing and to motor vehicle sales in which the amount financed does not exceed $35,000) and section 1-301, subsection 14 (A)(iv)(b) (which extends the provisions of the Code to unsecured loans not exceeding $35,000 if made by a supervised lender other than a supervised financial organization);
  5. Reg. Z, § 226.4(d)(1)(ii), concerning the form of disclosure of the cost of credit insurance, to the extent that additional substantive and disclosure requirements are imposed by section 4-104 of the Code;
  6. Reg. Z, § 226.5a(b)(1)(i), which sets forth the requirements for disclosure of the variable rate feature of a credit or charge card plan, to the extent that its provisions are more limited than those contained in section 3-310(1)(D) of the Code;
  7. Reg. Z, § 226.5a(b)(5), which sets forth the requirements for disclosure of a credit card plan’s "grace period," to the extent that it contemplates grace periods shorter than the minimum 25-day requirements of section 2-202(5) and section 2-402(4) of the Code;
  8. Reg. Z, § 226.5a(b)(9, 10), which set forth the requirements for disclosure of late payment fees and over-the-limit fees to the extent that such fees are not expressly authorized by section 2-501 of the Code for transactions other than those involving unsecured lender credit cards, for which late payment fees and over-the-limit fees are authorized in subsection 4 of section 2-501, and retail credit cards, for which late fees are authorized in subsection 1(G) of section 2-501of the Code;
  9. Reg. Z, § 226.5a(g), which defines various balance computation or calculation methods, to the extent that it contemplates methods other than the "average daily balance (excluding new purchases)," the "average daily balance (including new purchases)," and the "adjusted balance" methods, which are the only methods permitted by section 2-202(2) and section 2-402(2) of the Code;
  10. Reg. Z, § 226.6(a)(2), footnote 12, which sets forth the requirements for disclosure of the variable rate feature of an open-end credit plan, to the extent that its provisions are more limited than those contained in section 3-310(1)(D) of the Code;
  11. Reg. Z, § 226.9(c), concerning change in terms notices, to the extent there is a conflict with section 3-204 of the Code;
  12. Reg. Z, § 226.17(c)(5) and Official Staff Commentary to Reg. Z, §226.17(c)(1)—17 to the extent there is a conflict with section 8-103 (I -1) and 8-106(6) of the Code;
  13. Reg. Z, Appendix G-1, subsections (b) and (e) to the extent there is a conflict with sections 2-202(2) and 2-402(2) of the Code;
  14. Reg. M, § 213.4(m)(2) concerning the value of the leased property upon expiration of the lease to the extent there is a conflict with section 3-401 of the Code; and
  15. Reg. M, § 213.4(o) and Official Staff Commentary to Reg. M, §213.4(o)— 3 to the extent there is a conflict with Title 11 M.R.S.A. 2-1221(2)(b).

    The Administrators shall follow the interpretations set forth in the Official Commentaries to Regulations Z and M, as issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, except for the Official Staff Commentary to provisions for which an exception has been made under this rule, or unless the Administrators issue either a rule or advisory ruling, which demonstrates a conflict between Maine law and Regulation Z or M and establishes the interpretation of the Administrators.

SECTION 5. BASIS STATEMENT:

This Rule replaces a joint rule issued by Bureau of Banking 3 Chapter 138, Regulation 38 and the Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, Chapter 240, Regulation Z-2, effective July 7, 1998, which in turn supplanted versions effective May 28, 1997, May 4, 1992, December 18, 1989, May 22, 1986 and September 7, 1981. The purpose of this Rule is to provide guidance to creditors who are subject to Maine’s Truth-in-Lending Law (Article VIII of the Consumer Credit Code), and to maintain the State’s delegation of authority from the Federal

3The name of the Bureau of Banking was changed to the Bureau of Financial Institutions pursuant to P.L. 2001, c. 44, effective January 1, 2002.

Reserve Board, which was granted pursuant to section 123 of Title I of the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act of May 29, 1968, 15 U.S.C. §1633 (P. L. 90-321, eff. 7/1/69). In order to protect Maine’s exemption, this State’s regulations interpreting Truth-in-Lending principles must be at least as protective as federal Regulation Z (credit disclosures) and Regulation M (lease disclosures).

Specific changes to this rule from previous versions include the following:

  1. In Section 4, subsection 1 of this rule, a reference to "business day" has been added, to account for the fact that certain days (e.g. Patriot’s Day) are deemed holidays under Maine law and are not considered "business days," but are not holidays under federal law and are considered "business days."
  2. In Section 4, subsection 4 of this rule, language has been added regarding extension of Truth-in-Lending jurisdiction to certain manufactured housing transactions and to transactions of $35, 000 or less and with respect to the sale of a motor vehicle where the amount financed does not exceed $35,000, to conform to changes made to state statutes by Public Law 1997, c. 122 and in Public Law 1997, c. 727.
  3. In Section 4, subsection 15 of this rule, a reference to Regulation M and the Official Staff Commentary has been added, to address the fact that, while the federal regulation and commentary contemplate the offering of debt cancellation ("GAP") coverage on leased automobiles, Maine law (11 M.R.S. A. §2-1221(2)(b)) obviates the need for such coverage by relieving the consumer of liability for a deficiency balance when a vehicle covered by a collision insurance policy is "totaled" in an accident.

Adoption of the rule incorporates all recent amendments to Regulation Z including the amendments, which apply to:

  1. the definitions of "advertisement," "downpayment," "open-end credit," residential mortgage transaction," and "finance charge" to include a special rule for closing agent charges and examples of what constitutes a finance charge;
  2. guidance on disclosing penalty rates upon a specific event (e.g. late payment or over-the-limit status) for annual percentage rate (APR) disclosures for credit and charge card applications and solicitations;
  3. the treatment of annuity costs in reverse mortgage transactions;
  4. changes to the annual percentage rate disclosure requirements in the initial disclosure statement;
  5. the disclosure requirements for periodic statements under a deferred payment program;
  6. APRs for multifeatured plans that charge transaction fees in addition to periodic rates, such as transaction fees imposed on checking accounts with overdraft protection;
  7. the content of disclosures for the itemization of the amount financed for closed-end credit;
  8. the disclosure requirements for the timing of payments on a payment schedule for closed-end credit;
  9. the disclosure of the projected total cost of credit to the consumer in a reverse mortgage transaction;
  10. revisions to the Official Staff Commentary covering the issue of short-term cash advances, commonly referred to as "payday loans";
  11. the adjusted amount for 1999 of the dollar amount that triggers certain requirements of Truth-in-Lending regarding mortgages bearing fees above a certain amount;
  12. the prohibition against the issuance of unsolicited credit cards;
  13. redefining "credit card" to include cards marketed from the outset with both credit and non-credit features;
  14. finance charges that are imposed during the current billing cycle but that relate to account activity occurring during a prior billing cycle;
  15. calculating payment schedules involving private mortgage insurance;
  16. calculating the total sale price in a credit sale transaction;
  17. credit sale transactions where downpayments include cash and property used as a trade-in;
  18. payday loans and deferred presentment and related disclosure requirements, as well as clarification of whether a fee charged in connection with such a transaction may be a finance charge regardless of how the fee is characterized under state law;
  19. examples of variable-rate transactions that require disclosure if they are for a term greater than one year and are secured by the consumer’s principal dwelling;
  20. technical corrections to the regulation and Official Staff Commentary by redesignating a certain section, altering numeric references and including correct reference citations;
  21. the revision of disclosure requirements for credit and charge card solicitations and applications and the revision of Model Forms and Clauses that accompany the amended disclosure requirements;
  22. the adjusted amount for 2000 of the dollar amount that triggers certain requirements of Truth-in-Lending regarding mortgages bearing fees above a certain amount;
  23. the Truth-in-Lending Act to establish uniform standards for the electronic delivery of disclosures in accordance with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act;
  24. adoption of a regulation lifting the mandatory compliance date for compliance with the uniform standards for the electronic delivery of disclosures in accordance with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act;
  25. Regulation Z to allow creditors to provide disclosures in foreign languages;
  26. the provisions of Regulation Z that implement the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act to lower the rate-based trigger by two percentage points for first-lien mortgage loans and to revise the fee-based trigger to include the cost of optional credit insurance and similar debt protection products paid at closing; and
  27. the adjusted amount for 2002 of the dollar amount that triggers certain requirements of Truth-in-Lending regarding mortgages bearing fees above a certain amount.

RESPONSE TO COMMENTS:

The agencies received one letter of comment from Christopher W. Pinkham, President of the Maine Association of Community Banks, a trade association. Although he stated that a dialogue is ongoing among the related industries concerning the continued value of a state exemption for some segments of the Truth-in-Lending Act, he did not provide any specific comments regarding the revision or modification of the content of the Rule as proposed by the agencies. The commenter acknowledges that the Truth-in-Lending exemption is a policy issue more properly addressed by the Legislature. In the absence of a specific comment, no response from the agencies is necessary.

SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE: July 28, 2002

 

Last Updated: April 13, 2007