TITLE 10. FINANCE AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION

Final Regulation

Title of Regulation: 10VAC5-60. Consumer Finance Companies (amending 10VAC5-60-60).

Statutory Authority: §§ 6.2-1535 and 12.1-13 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: April 1, 2024.

Agency Contact: Dustin Physioc, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Financial Institutions, State Corporation Commission, P.O. Box 640, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 786-0831, FAX (804) 371-9416, or email dustin.physioc@scc.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments realign the schedule of annual fees to be paid by all licensed consumer finance companies to defray the costs of examination, supervision, and regulation with the costs incurred by the Bureau of Financial Institutions and reduce the total amount of annual fees paid by licensees that are based on net loans receivable, other licensee assets, and the total assets of affiliates that conduct business in any of the licensee's authorized offices.

AT RICHMOND, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, ex rel.

STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION

CASE NO. BFI-2024-00001

Ex Parte: In the Matter of Adopting

Amendments to the Regulation

Governing Annual Fees Paid by

Consumer Finance Companies

ORDER ADOPTING A REGULATION

On January 9, 2024, the State Corporation Commission ("Commission") entered an Order to Take Notice of a proposal by the Bureau of Financial Institutions ("Bureau") to amend 10VAC5-60-60 of the Commission's rules governing consumer finance companies, 10VAC5-60-5 et seq., which prescribes the schedule of annual fees that are required to be paid by licensees under Chapter 15 of Title 6.2 of the Code of Virginia ("licensees"). The Bureau has asserted that the proposed amendments are designed to realign the schedule with the Bureau's costs of examination, supervision, and regulation of licensees, and reduce the total amount of annual fees paid by licensees.

The Order to Take Notice and proposed amended regulation were posted on the Commission's website, sent to all licensees and other interested persons, and published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on January 29, 2024. The Order to Take Notice invited all interested persons to participate and required that any comments or requests for a hearing on the proposed amended regulation be submitted in writing on or before February 9, 2024. The Commission did not receive any comments or requests for a hearing.

NOW THE COMMISSION, having considered this matter, finds that the proposed amended regulation should be adopted with an effective date of April 1, 2024.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT:

(1) The proposed amended regulation, as attached hereto, is adopted effective April 1, 2024.

(2) This Order and the attached regulation shall be made available on the Commission's website: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information.

(3) The Commission's Office of General Counsel shall provide a copy of this Order and the amended regulation to the Virginia Registrar of Regulations for appropriate publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations.

(4) This case is dismissed.

Commissioner James C. Dimitri participated in this matter.

A COPY of this Order and the attached regulation shall be sent by the Clerk of the Commission to the Commission's Office of General Counsel and to the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, who shall send by e-mail or U.S. mail a copy of this Order, along with the attached regulation, to all licensed consumer finance companies and such other interested persons as he may designate.

10VAC5-60-60. Schedule prescribing annual fees paid for examination, supervision, and regulation of consumer finance companies.

Pursuant to § 6.2-1532 of the Code of Virginia, the commission sets the following schedule sets the of annual fees to be paid annually by licensees under the Act to defray the costs of examination, supervision, and regulation of licensees by the bureau:.

Minimum Each licensee shall be assessed a minimum annual fee - $300 per of $150 plus $150 for each office open January 1 of the current where the licensee was authorized to engage in business under the Act as of December 31 of the calendar year preceding the date of the assessment. For example, the minimum annual fee due June 1, 2025, for a licensee [ who that ] maintained a single authorized office as of December 31, 2024, would be $300 ($150 flat fee + $150 office fee) and the minimum annual fee due June 1, 2025, for a licensee who maintained three authorized offices as of December 31, 2024, would be $600 ($150 flat fee + $450 office fee).

In addition to the minimum fee, each licensee shall be assessed the following fee based on total assets fees:

The annual fee for each licensee will be computed on the basis of its total assets combined with the total assets of its affiliates conducting business in any of its authorized offices as of the close of business December 31 of the preceding calendar year.

Fee for net loans receivable:

Fee for other licensee assets (total assets of licensee minus net loans receivable):

Fee for total assets of affiliates that conduct business in any of the licensee's authorized offices:

**The amounts of such total assets Net Loans Receivable, Other Licensee Assets, and Affiliate Assets will be derived obtained from the annual reports that § 6.2-1534 of the Code of Virginia requires licensees to file with the bureau on or before the first day of April of each year. Accordingly, fees will be calculated based on Net Loans Receivable, Other Licensee Assets, and Affiliate Assets as of December 31 of the calendar year preceding the date of the assessment. For purposes of this section, "Net Loans Receivable" means the total outstanding principal balance of all loans made under the Act.

In accordance with § 6.2-1532 of the Code of Virginia, annual fees for any given calendar year will be assessed on or before May 1 of that year and must be paid on or before June 1 of that year.

Notwithstanding any provision of this section, if a licensee was not licensed under the Act as of December 31 of the calendar year preceding the date of the assessment, the annual fee shall be $0.

Fees prescribed and assessed pursuant to this schedule are apart from and do not include the reimbursement for costs authorized by subsection C of § 6.2-1533 of the Code of Virginia.

Sample Annual Fee Calculation: