§412:9-302  Interest rates.  (a) A financial services loan company shall have the right to charge, contract for,and receive interest, fees and other charges on loans, as permitted by chapter478, or as otherwise permitted by law.

(b)  In addition to and without limiting theauthority granted by subsection (a), for any loan on which interest iscalculated under the authority of section 412:9-301, a financial services loancompany may charge, contract for, and receive interest at any rate which doesnot exceed the maximum rate allowed by this section:

(1)  For precomputed loans, interest that is paid ordeducted in advance shall not exceed fourteen per cent a year for the firsteighteen months or portion thereof, plus ten and one-half per cent a year for thenext twelve months or portion thereof, plus seven per cent a year for the nexttwelve months or portion thereof, plus four per cent a year for the last sixmonths or portion thereof, of the term of the loan.  The maximum term of aprecomputed loan where the preceding rates are charged will be forty-eightmonths.  If the term of a precomputed loan exceeds forty-eight months, thefinancial services loan company may charge, contract for, and receive a"finance charge" in any form or forms at an "annual percentagerate" not to exceed twenty-four per cent a year, together with any othercharges that are excluded or excludable from the determination of financecharge under the Truth in Lending Act.  The terms "finance charge"and "annual percentage rate" shall have the same meaning as under theTruth in Lending Act.

(2)  For simple interest loans, a financial servicesloan company may charge, contract for, and receive a "finance charge"in any form or forms at an "annual percentage rate" not to exceedtwenty-four per cent a year, together with any other charges that are excludedor excludable from the determination of finance charge under the Truth inLending Act.  The terms "finance charge" and "annual percentagerate" as used in this subsection shall have the same meaning as under theTruth in Lending Act.

The rate in this subsection shall be applicableto any simple interest loan, whether or not the Truth in Lending Act applies tothe transaction, notwithstanding the fixed or variable manner in which interestor a finance charge may be computed under the loan, and whether or not thecontract uses the terms "interest" or "annual percentagerate" or "finance charge" or any combination of such terms.

For rate computation purposes the financialservices loan company conclusively shall be presumed to have given alldisclosures in accordance with the terms of the loan that are contemplated bythe Truth in Lending Act, including those necessary to exclude any charges fromthe finance charge.

(c)  On maturity of a loan, the rate ofinterest on the unpaid principal balance of the loan shall be twenty-four percent a year, unless a lesser rate is specified in the note or other form ofcontract signed by the borrower as an after-maturity interest rate.

(d)  Any open-end loan account that is also a"credit card agreement" as defined in section 478-1 shall be subjectto the rate limitations in section 478-4 rather than the rate limitations inthis article. [L 1993, c 350, pt of §1]