CHAPTER 263
S.P. 223 - L.D. 614
An Act To Provide Parity in Lending by State-chartered Financial Institutions
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 9-A MRSA §2-509, as enacted by PL 1973, c. 762, §1, is amended to read:
Subject to the provisions on rebate upon prepayment, section 2-510, the consumer may prepay in full the unpaid balance of a consumer credit transaction at any time without penalty, except for minimum charges as permitted by law. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Title, a reasonable charge may be assessed upon a consumer related to prepayment of a consumer loan made by a supervised financial organization and secured by an interest in land, other than a high-rate, high-fee mortgage, as defined in section 8-103, subsection 1, paragraph F-1, if the charge is reasonably calculated to offset the cost of origination of the loan. The administrator shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. 9-B MRSA §429, sub-§§2 and 3, as repealed and replaced by PL 1983, c. 679, §2, are amended to read:
2. Payment of interest or dividends. Each mortgagee holding funds of a mortgagor in an a required escrow account on behalf of itself or another mortgagee for the payment of taxes or insurance premiums with respect to mortgaged property located in this State shall pay the mortgagor, at least quarterly, dividends or interest on the account at a rate of not less than 3% per year 50% of the 1-year Treasury Note rate or rate of a comparable instrument if the 1-year Treasury Note is not offered, as published in a financial newspaper of national circulation, as of the first business day of the year in which the quarterly interest or dividend is paid. The dividends or interest paid under this subsection may not be reduced by any charge for service or maintenance of the account.
3. Computing and crediting interest. Under subsection 2, interest shall must be computed on the daily balances in the account from the date of receipt to the date of disbursement and shall must be credited to the account as of the last business day of each quarter of a calendar or fiscal year. If the such an account is closed or discontinued before the last business day of a quarter of a calendar or fiscal year, interest shall must be computed and credited as of the day the account is closed or discontinued. For the purposes of this section calculating interest under subsection 2, the mortgagee may take into account debit balances resulting from advances and may elect to compute interest on the basis of the actual number of days in each quarter and year, or on the basis of a 30-day month and a 360-day year. At least once a year, the mortgagee shall give the mortgagor a statement showing the interest credited on the escrow account during the period which that the statement covers.
Effective September 13, 2003, unless otherwise indicated.
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