Revised Statutes of Newfoundland 1990 Chapter T-9

(b) "loan company" means an incorporated company, association or society constituted, authorized or operated for the purpose of lending money on the security of real estate or investing money in mortgages, charges or hypothecs upon real estate or for those and other purposes, but does not include a chartered bank, an insurance company or a trust company;

(d) "superintendent" means

(i) the Superintendent of Insurance of the province, or

(ii) where an agreement is made under subsection 12(2), the Superintendent of Insurance of Canada; and

(e) "trust company" means an incorporated company constituted or operated for the purpose of acting as trustee, bailee, agent, executor, administrator, receiver, liquidator, assignee, guardian of a minor's estate, or committee of a mentally incompetent person's estate.

1974 No120 s2; 1981 c4 Sch C; 1984 c41 Sch C; 1989 c19 Sch B

3. (1) A company shall not carry on business in the province unless it holds a valid and existing licence issued under this Act.

(2) A licence issued under this Act expires at the end of the calendar year in which it was issued.

(3) A licence that has expired under subsection (2) or has been cancelled under section 8 may be renewed under this Act.

1974 No120 s3

4. An application for a licence or renewal of a licence shall be made to the minister upon the prescribed form and shall be delivered to the superintendent accompanied by

(a) the prescribed fee;

(b) a statement showing the condition and affairs of the company as of the end of its immediately preceding financial year or as of another day that the superintendent may require; and

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5. A licence shall not be granted to a company where the unimpaired paid-up capital and surplus of the company is less than $1,000,000.

1974 No120 s5

6. (1) Upon the report of the superintendent the minister may

(a) grant or renew a licence where in the minister's opinion the applicant is suitable to be licensed and the proposed licensing is not objectionable; or

(b) refuse to grant a licence where, after an investigation that the minister considers expedient, in his or her opinion the applicant is not suitable to be licensed or the proposed licensing is objectionable.

(2) Where a company makes an application to the minister for a licence or renewal of a licence and the application is refused by the minister, the company may appeal to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council against the decision of the minister and, after an investigation or hearing where the Lieutenant-Governor in Council considers one necessary, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall decide the appeal and that decision is final.

1974 No120 s6

7. (1) A licence granted or renewed under section 6 shall be granted or renewed subject to those terms, conditions and restrictions that the minister may prescribe in respect of the licence and different terms, conditions and restrictions may be prescribed in respect of the different kinds of licences and in respect of different licences of the same kind.

(2) By written notice to the licensee the minister may add to, alter or remove a term, condition or restriction prescribed in respect of a licence.

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8. (1) The minister may suspend or cancel a licence where the minister is satisfied that the licensee

(a) has failed to comply with a term, condition or restriction prescribed in respect of the licence; or

(b) has insufficient assets to justify its continuing in business or to provide proper security to persons from whom it takes deposits or borrows money in the conduct of its business.

(2) The minister may reinstate a licence suspended under subsection (1) where the reason for the suspension has been rectified to his or her satisfaction.

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9. The superintendent may require further information or material to be submitted, within a time specified by the superintendent, by an applicant for a licence or renewal of a licence or by a licensee and may require verification by affidavit or otherwise of information or material so submitted or previously submitted.

1974 No120 s9

10. (1) A company licensed under this Act shall prepare annually and deliver to the superintendent within 60 days of the end of the company's financial year a statement of the condition and affairs of the company showing the assets and liabilities of the company as at the end of the financial year and its revenue and expenditure during the financial year together with the other information that the superintendent may require.

(2) The statement required under subsection (1) shall be in the form that the superintendent prescribes and shall be verified by affidavit or otherwise as the superintendent requires.

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11. (1) A company shall not accept deposits, within the meaning of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act (Canada), unless it is insured under a policy of deposit insurance issued by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(2) Within 48 hours of receiving notice of cancellation or suspension of its policy of deposit insurance, a company carrying on business within the province shall give notice by registered mail to the minister of the cancellation or suspension.

(3) The minister upon receiving notice of suspension or cancellation of a policy of deposit insurance under subsection (2) may appoint, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, an inspector or auditor to examine and audit the books of the company receiving notice of suspension or cancellation of its policy of deposit insurance, and that company and its officers shall give the inspector or auditor reasonable facilities for inspecting those books.

(4) A certificate issued by an insurer certifying a policy of deposit insurance shall require the insurer to give 60 days notice of suspension or cancellation of that policy holder.

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12. (1) The Superintendent of Insurance of the province shall administer the operation of this Act.

(2) The minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may enter into agreements with the Government of Canada under which, upon the terms or conditions contained in them, the Superintendent of Insurance of Canada may perform the duties imposed on the superintendent by this Act.

1974 No120 s12; 1979 c51 s32

13. (1) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the minister may waive

(a) the requirements of sections 5 and 11; or

(b) the operation of this whole Act

in respect of a company.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a loan company that borrows money for the purpose of lending it on the security of real estate applies to the minister for a wavier of sections 5 and 11 in respect of that loan company, the minister shall bring the application to the attention of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and where the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is satisfied that the loan company is not carrying on a business other than lending money on the security of real estate, the minister shall waive the requirements of sections 5 and 11 of this Act in respect of that loan company subject to those terms and conditions that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may establish.

1974 No120 s13

14. A waiver referred to in section 13 applies only so long as the effective control of a company concerned remains in the hands of residents of the province.

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15. (1) Except with the prior approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and subject to the terms and conditions that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may establish, a company in respect of which a waiver under section 13 is in effect shall not

(a) by advertising or otherwise convey or give the impression that it is a trust or loan company and in a position to give persons dealing with it the benefit of insurance under the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act (Canada); or

(b) sell its securities in the province.

(2) A company that contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and its directors and officers are jointly and individually liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and in default of payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.

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16. A company carrying on business within the province that

(a) accepts deposits contrary to subsection 11(1); or

(b) contravenes another provision of this Act or the regulations

is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of $2,000.

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17. The conviction of a company under section 15 or 16 does not operate as a bar to further prosecution for the continued neglect or failure on its part to comply with this Act.

1974 No120 s17

18. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) prescribing forms of licences, application for licences and other forms for use under this Act and regulations;

(b) prescribing the fees payable upon application for a licence and the renewal of a licence and other fees in connection with the administration of the Act and regulations;

(d) providing for the holding of inquiries into the operation of this Act and into a charge or complaint that a company has contravened this Act or the regulations or into a matter arising in the administration of this Act, and providing that the person holding an inquiry shall have the powers that are or may be conferred upon a commissioner under the Public Inquiries Act; and

(e) generally, to give effect to the purpose of this Act.

1974 No120 s18