(a) A licensee may lend any sum of money, goods, or things of value not exceeding in amount or value $9,500, excluding interest charges, upon such security not forbidden by section 187 of this title as may be agreed upon, under a contract which permits the combined total of the principal and interest charges to be paid in substantially equal and consecutive monthly installments except for the first installment which may be larger than each of the remaining installments by the amount of the charge required to extend the first installment due-date beyond one month from the date of the loan. Licensees may charge, contract for and receive interest charges at a maximum annual percentage rate computed on the unpaid balance of the amount financed of 26 percent per annum, but not less than 19.50 percent per annum based on the following formula; the maximum annual percentage interest rate shall be determined quarterly by adding 13 points on the prime interest rate prevailing fifteen (15) days prior to the first day of the months of January, April, July and October of each year. The prime interest rate shall be the lower of the rates charged by the Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., and CitiBank, N.A., as published in the Wall Street Journal; and such rate shall be announced quarterly by the Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands. At no time shall the maximum annual percentage rate of interest determined under this method be lower than 19.50 percent per annum, or not more than 26 percent per annum, but shall be what the actual annual percentage rate of interest is based on the preceding formula at the time of the signing of the loan.
(b) No licensee shall, with the intent to circumvent the provisions of this chapter, originate a loan or loans to any person that will obligate the person to the licensee on one or more contracts of loan, the total principal balance of which is more than $9,500. Nothing provided herein shall preclude any licensee or any affiliate of a licensee from acquiring by purchase, negotiation, or otherwise, loans from any person which, when originated, did not obligate the person to the originator of the loan or loans in an aggregate principal balance in excess of $9,500 provided that if, subsequent to acquisition, any person becomes obligated to any licensee in an total principal amount in excess of $9,500, only one such loan may thereafter be renewed.
(c) No licensee shall induce or permit any borrower to split up or divide any loan. No licensee shall induce or permit any person to become obligated to him, directly or contingently, or both, under more than one contract of loan at the same time, for the purpose or with the result of obtaining a higher rate of charge than would otherwise be permitted by this section.
(d) For the purpose of applying subsections (b) and (c) of this section only, licensee shall mean any single licensee, except that in the event any person or affiliated group of persons holds more than one license in the territory, such person or affiliated group of persons shall be considered a single licensee.
(e) If the contract so provides, a licensee may charge and collect an additional charge for either default or deferment. When one-half or more of an installment remains unpaid ten or more successive calendar days from the due date, it shall be in default. The additional charge for default may be collected at the time of default or at any time thereafter. The charge for default shall be five cents per dollar for each dollar of the regular contract payment. If a borrower desires to defer the scheduled contract payment and the lender agrees, it will have the effect of extending the contract for an additional month. The assessment charge for a deferred payment will be two percent of the actual existing or ledger card balance of the account. This charge will be collected only once for each deferment.
(f) In computing charges a month shall be that period of time from any date in a month to the corresponding date in the next month but if there is no such corresponding date then to the last day of such next month and a day shall be considered one-thirtieth of a month when computation is made for a fraction of a month.
(g) A licensee and borrower may agree that the first installment period may exceed one month by fifteen days or less and the charge for each day exceeding one month shall be one-thirtieth of the applicable charge which would be earned for a first installment period of one month under the rebate computation provided by this section. The charge for extra days in the first installment period may be added to the first installment. Such charge and the extra days shall be excluded from the computation of the rebate required by this section.
(h) If charges in excess of those permitted by this subchapter shall be charged, contracted for or received except as a result of an accidental or bona fide error the licensee shall have no right to collect or receive any interest or other charges provided in this section.