Limitations on Terms of Consumer Credit Extended to Service Members and Dependents

The Department of Defense ("Department") amends its regulation that implements the Military Lending Act, herein referred to as the "MLA." Among other protections for Service members and their families, the MLA limits the amount of interest that a creditor may charge on "consumer credit" to a maximum annual percentage rate of 36 percent. The Department amends its regulation primarily for the purpose of extending the protections of the MLA to a broader range of closed- end and open-end credit products. Among other amendments, the Department modifies the provisions relating to the optional mechanism a creditor could use when assessing whether a consumer is a "covered borrower," modifies the disclosures that a creditor must provide to a covered borrower, and implements the enforcement provisions of the MLA.