12 CFR 37.2 – Definitions
For purposes of this part:
Terms Used In 12 CFR 37.2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. Source: OCC
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Open-end credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or revolving credit.) Source: OCC
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
(a) Actuarial method means the method of allocating payments made on a debt between the amount financed and the finance charge pursuant to which a payment is applied first to the accumulated finance charge and any remainder is subtracted from, or any deficiency is added to, the unpaid balance of the amount financed.
(b) Bank means a national bank and a Federal branch or Federal agency of a foreign bank as those terms are defined in part 28 of this chapter.
(c) Closed-end credit means consumer credit other than open-end credit as defined in this section.
(d) Contract means a debt] cancellation contract or a debt suspension agreement.
(e) Customer means an individual who obtains an extension of credit from a bank primarily for personal, family or household purposes.
(f) Debt cancellation contract means a loan term or contractual arrangement modifying loan terms under which a bank agrees to cancel all or part of a customer’s obligation to repay an extension of credit from that bank upon the occurrence of a specified event. The agreement may be separate from or a part of other loan documents.
(g) Debt suspension agreement means a loan term or contractual arrangement modifying loan terms under which a bank agrees to suspend all or part of a customer’s obligation to repay an extension of credit from that bank upon the occurrence of a specified event. The agreement may be separate from or a part of other loan documents. The term debt suspension agreement does not include loan payment deferral arrangements in which the triggering event is the borrower’s unilateral election to defer repayment, or the bank’s unilateral decision to allow a deferral of repayment.
(h) Open-end credit means consumer credit extended by a bank under a plan in which:
(1) The bank reasonably contemplates repeated transactions;
(2) The bank may impose a finance charge from time to time on an outstanding unpaid balance; and
(3) The amount of credit that may be extended to the customer during the term of the plan (up to any limit set by the bank) is generally made available to the extent that any outstanding balance is repaid.
(i) Residential mortgage loan means a loan secured by 1-4 family, residential real property.