Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 744 amends the Finance Code to increase the maximum annual interest rate allowed on any revolving credit account to 18 percent and to authorize several fees on those accounts. The act establishes a cap on each fee, prohibits a creditor from charging interest on fees, and requires a creditor to include a notice on a customer's monthly statement warning of delinquency charges for late payments.

            House Bill 744 increases the maximum authorized delinquency charge on a retail installment sales account from $10 to $15 per installment, requires the holder of the account to remit 50 cents of each charge in excess of $10 to the comptroller to fund research by the finance commission and debtor assistance education and counseling services offered by the office of the consumer credit commissioner, and requires the holder to include a notice on a customer's monthly statement relating to delinquency charges. The act also requires the consumer credit commissioner to collect a portion of certain delinquency charges from a retail seller if the commissioner determines that the seller has moved its credit operations out of the state in order to circumvent Texas laws relating to rate ceilings.