Page:1959 North Dakota Session Laws.pdf/242

242 connection with any such loan, any charges whether for interest, compensation, consideration, or expense, which in the aggregate are greater than seven percent per annum.

(b) Exemptions.) This Act shall not apply to any person doing business under and as permitted by any law of this state or the United States relating to banking associations, banking institutions, banks, savings banks, trust companies, savings or building and loan associations, mutual investment corporations, mutual savings corporations, or credit unions nor to any person conducting a bona fide pawnbroking business transacted under a pawnbroker's license nor shall such persons be eligible to become a licensee under this Act.

(c) Evasions.) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall apply to any person who seeks to evade its application by any device, subterfuge, or pretense whatsoever, including, but not limited to: the loan, forbearance, use or sale of credit as guarantor, surety, endorser, co-maker, or otherwise; the use or sale of money, goods, or things in action; the use of collateral or related sales or purchases of goods or services, or agreements to sell or purchase, whether real or pretended; receiving or charging compensation for goods or services, whether or not sold, delivered, or provided; and the real or pretended negotiation, arrangement, or procurement of a loan through any use or activity of a third person, whether real or fictitious.

§ 4. Application and Fees.) Application for a license shall be in writing, under oath, and in the form prescribed by the state examiner. The application shall give the location where the business is to be conducted and shall contain such further information as the state examiner may require, including the names and addresses of the partners, officers, directors, or trustees, and of such of the principal owners or members as will provide the basis for the investigations and findings contemplated by section 5 of this Act. At the time of making such application, the applicant shall pay to the state examiner the sum of three hundred dollars as a fee for investigating the application, and the sum of one hundred dollars for the annual license fee.

§ 5. Investigation of Application; Requirements for Issuance of License; Bond; Denial of License; Public Record.) (a) Upon the filing of an application and the payment of the fees, therefore, the state examiner shall investigate the facts concerning the application. The state examiner shall notify all licensees having a place of business in a community in which the applicant proposes to do business, of the filing of such application within thirty days after the date of filing such application. If any licensee having a place of business in the