On 24/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 24/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 24/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 01/06/2012.
PART II
REGULATION OF BUSINESS OF MONEYLENDING
6.
—(1) An applicant for the issue of a licence who intends to conduct his business of moneylending at 2 or more places of business shall, when applying to the Registrar under section 10 of the Act for approval of such places of business for moneylending, notify the Registrar in writing which of those places will be his principal place of business.
(2) A licensee who intends to conduct his business of moneylending at any place of business in addition to any place or places of business already approved under section 10 of the Act shall, when applying to the Registrar under that section for approval of such additional place of business for moneylending, notify the Registrar in writing which of those places will be his principal place of business.
(3) A licensee who intends to change his principal place of business for the conduct of his business of moneylending shall notify the Registrar in writing of this before carrying out such change.
(4) For the purposes of the Act and these Rules, all notices, letters and other correspondence from the Registrar to a licensee may be sent by ordinary or registered mail to his principal place of business as last notified by the licensee under this rule.
7.
—(1) A licensee shall apply to the Registrar for a replacement licence reflecting the correct particulars in any of the following circumstances:
(a)
if he intends to change his principal place of business;
(b)
if he intends to conduct his business of moneylending under a different name;
(c)
if, being an individual, partnership or limited liability partnership, the licensee intends to appoint an individual to manage the licensee’s business of moneylending in the absence of the individual or (as the case may be) partners who are individuals and managing the business;
(d)
if the appointed individual referred to in sub-paragraph (c) ceases to manage the licensee’s business of moneylending.
(2) An application under paragraph (1) shall be made in writing no later than 7 days before the change is due to take effect, and the licensee shall surrender his existing licence to the Registrar at the time of application.
(3) A licensee may apply to the Registrar for a replacement licence on the ground that his licence has been lost or destroyed, and the Registrar may issue a replacement licence to the licensee if he is satisfied that the licence has been lost or destroyed.
(4) An application under paragraph (3) shall be accompanied by a fee of $50 and such information or documents as the Registrar may require.
8. For the purposes of section 19(1) of the Act, every licensee shall, before granting any loan to a borrower, inform the borrower in writing as to all of the following matters:
(a)
the effective interest rate for the loan expressed as a percentage per annum;
(b)
whether interest will be computed on the daily outstanding balance of the loan or the outstanding balance at some other interval of time, or on a simple interest basis on the amount of the loan;
(c)
the date or day when the interest on the principal will be credited to the loan account as payable;
(d)
the effective interest rate for the interest (if any) to be charged on late payment of the principal and interest;
(e)
whether late interest (if any) will be computed on the daily outstanding balance of the overdue amount or on the overdue amount at some other interval of time;
(f)
whether any permitted fees will be charged and, if so, what the permitted fees are, how they are or will be computed and the circumstances under which they will be charged;
(g)
in the case of a term loan —
(i)
the frequency of the instalment payments if the borrower does not default on any payment;
(ii)
the amount of each such instalment payment;
(iii)
the portions of each such instalment payment that will be appropriated to repayment of the principal and payment of the interest (excluding late interest); and
(iv)
the total number of instalments and the total amount the borrower will pay over the entire term of the loan if he does not default on any payment.
9.
—(1) A licensee shall not grant a loan to a borrower unless he has received from the borrower a duly completed application form which states all of the following:
(a)
particulars of the borrower, namely —
(i)
if the borrower is an individual, his full name (including any alias), date of birth, personal identification number (such as his NRIC number, birth certificate number or passport number), nationality, residential address and telephone number;
(ii)
if the borrower is a body corporate, its name, address of its place of business or registered office, telephone number, date and place of incorporation and incorporation number, and the names, personal identification numbers and residential addresses of its substantial shareholders, directors and persons employed in an executive capacity; or
(iii)
if the borrower is a partnership, limited liability partnership or unincorporated association, its name, address of its place of business or registered office, telephone number, date and place of registration and registration number, the names, personal identification numbers and residential addresses of its partners who are individuals (if applicable) and persons employed in an executive capacity, and the names, places of incorporation, incorporation numbers and addresses of the places of business or registered offices of its partners which are corporations (if applicable);
(b)
the particulars referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of the surety.
(2) The licensee shall require the borrower to provide reliable and independent documentary evidence in support of all information provided in the loan application form, and verify the information against such evidence.
(3) The licensee shall extend a copy of the duly completed loan application form to the borrower, and another copy thereof to his surety (if any), at the time the loan is granted.
(4) A licensee who contravenes paragraph (1), (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)
in a case where the offender is an individual, to a fine not exceeding $10,000; and
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $20,000.
10. The note of a contract for a loan referred to in section 20(1)(a) of the Act shall be in Form 1 in the Schedule or a form which includes all the terms and particulars in that Form, whether worded in the same way or differently but to the same effect.
11.
—(1) Where the contract for a loan does not provide for the payment of equal instalments of principal and interest at equal intervals of time, the computation of the interest charged on the loan shall be based on the amount of principal remaining after deducting from the original principal the total payments made by or on behalf of the borrower which are appropriated to principal.
(2) The maximum rate of interest referred to in section 23(6) of the Act shall be —
(a)
in the case of a secured loan granted to an individual whose annual income on the date of the grant for the loan is less than $30,000, the effective interest rate of 13% per annum; and
(b)
in the case of an unsecured loan granted to an individual whose annual income on the date of the grant for the loan is less than $30,000, the effective interest rate of 20% per annum.
(3) In the case of a loan granted to an individual whose annual income on the date of the grant for the loan is less than $30,000, the maximum rate of late interest referred to in section 23(6) of the Act shall be the effective interest rate for the amount of the loan actually disbursed.
(4) In paragraph (2) and subject to paragraph (5) —
“secured loan” means any loan given with security;
“unsecured loan” means any loan given without security.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2), where —
(a)
a loan is given with security; and
(b)
the market value of the assets constituting the security at the time of application for the loan is less than the amount of the loan,
then the amount of the loan that is equal to such market value shall be treated as a secured loan, and the balance thereof shall be treated as an unsecured loan.
12. For the purposes of section 22 of the Act, a licensee may impose the following costs, charges and expenses in respect of every loan granted by him, provided that such costs, charges and expenses have been agreed to by the borrower:
(a)
a fee for each occasion of late repayment of principal or late payment of interest (including any late interest);
(b)
a fee for each occasion the terms of the contract for the loan are varied at the request of the borrower;
(c)
a fee for every cheque drawn by or on behalf of the borrower which is dishonoured by the bank on which it is drawn when presented by the licensee;
(d)
a fee for every unsuccessful deduction from a bank account through interbank GIRO for payment by or on behalf of a borrower to the licensee;
(e)
in the case of a term loan, a fee for the early redemption (whether partial or in full) of the loan, and a fee for the early termination of the contract (whether due to the default of the borrower, redemption of the loan or otherwise) for the loan;
(f)
legal costs incurred for the recovery of the loan.
13. The statement of account required under section 21(1) of the Act to be supplied by a licensee to every borrower at least once every half year ending on 30th June or 31st December shall contain the following particulars:
(a)
the business name of the licensee;
(b)
the address of the place of business of the licensee at which the loan was taken or the address of the licensee’s principal place of business;
(c)
the telephone number of the place of business at which the loan was taken or the telephone number of the licensee’s principal place of business;
(d)
the date on which the loan was granted, the principal or credit limit of the loan, the effective interest rate and the amount of interest charged;
(e)
the total principal, interest (including late interest) and permitted fees (if any) due and outstanding as at the beginning of that half-year period;
(f)
in the case of a loan granted on revolving credit, a list of the amount and date of every drawdown in that half-year period;
(g)
a list of every item of interest (including late interest) and permitted fees (if any) payable by the borrower, the amount of each item and the date each amount was payable in that half-year period;
(h)
a list of payments received by the licensee in respect of the loan, and the date of each payment, in that half-year period;
(i)
the portions of each payment referred to in paragraph (h) appropriated to the repayment of principal, the payment of interest (including late interest) and the payment of permitted fees (if any); and
(j)
the total principal, interest (including late interest) and permitted fees (if any) due and outstanding as at the end of that half-year period.
14.
—(1) For the purposes of section 24(1) of the Act, a licensee shall keep or cause to be kept the accounts and documents referred to in that provision for a period of not less than 5 years from —
(a)
the date the loan is fully repaid; or
(b)
the date the contract for the loan is otherwise terminated,
whether such loan is made or fully repaid, or such contract is terminated, before, on or after 1st March 2009, as the case may be.
(2) The following accounts and documents are to be kept for the purposes of section 24(1)(a) and (c) of the Act:
(a)
loan application forms for loans made by him and copies of documentary evidence in support thereof;
(b)
a cash account book;
(c)
a loan account book; and
(d)
a list of borrowers.
(3) The licensee shall keep or cause to be kept all accounts and documents referred to in section 24(1) of the Act and in paragraph (2) in English.
(4) The licensee shall keep or cause to be kept the entries in the accounts and documents referred to in paragraph (2)(a), (b) and (c) in a chronological order.
(5) The accounts and documents referred to in paragraph (2) may be kept in an electronic form.
(6) A licensee who contravenes paragraph (3) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)
in the case where the offender is an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
15.
—(1) The cash account book referred to in rule 14(2)(b) shall be in Form 2 in the Schedule.
(2) The amount of every sum received or paid by a licensee in respect of his business of moneylending shall be entered in the cash account book —
(a)
at the time of the receipt or payment; and
(b)
in a chronological order.
(3) The accounts of a licensee in the cash account book shall be balanced on a daily basis, and the accounts for each day shall be so balanced no later than 14 days from the end of the month in which that day falls.
(4) A licensee who contravenes paragraph (1), (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)
in the case where the offender is an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
16.
—(1) The loan account book referred to in rule 14(2)(c) shall be in Form 3 of the Schedule.
(2) A licensee shall keep or cause to be kept his loan account book in the following manner:
(a)
a separate account shall be kept for each loan in the book;
(b)
the loans shall be numbered consecutively in the book;
(c)
every amount of repayment or sum paid to account —
(i)
shall be entered in the book as it occurs together with the date of its occurrence and a reference to the relevant entry of the cash account book referred to in rule 14(2)(b); and
(ii)
shall be appropriated in the book to principal, interest (including late interest) and permitted fees (if any);
(d)
when a loan is fully repaid or settled, an entry to that effect shall be made in the book and its account shall be closed;
(e)
when a loan is renewed, an entry shall be made to that effect in the book, the account for the loan before its renewal shall be closed and the balance transferred to the account of the renewed loan.
(3) A licensee who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)
in the case where the offender is an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
17.
—(1) The list of borrowers referred to in rule 14(2)(d) shall set out the following particulars of every borrower to whom the licensee has granted one or more loans:
(a)
the name of the borrower in full;
(b)
his personal identification number (such as his NRIC number, birth certificate number or passport number) or incorporation or registration number (as the case may be); and
(c)
the account number or numbers of the loan or loans.
(2) The licensee shall enter or cause to be entered in the list of borrowers the names of the borrowers in an alphabetical order according to their surnames.
(3) A licensee who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)
in the case where the offender is an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and
(b)
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $10,000.