2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART III - Other Financial Institutions (§§ 551 — 1390) › Chapter 74 - Regulation of the Financial Intermediation Business (§§ 1071 — 1087) › § 1080 - Prohibited practices

No person, licensee, member of the board of directors, or the committees, nor any executive officer, official, employee, or agent of the licensee under the provisions of this chapter may:
(1) Solicit, receive or collect in advance, the total or partial payment of any commission or fees for services to be rendered.
(2) Advertise, show, distribute, broadcast or permit the advertising, showing, distribution or broadcasting of information on the types, terms and conditions for loans and financing in a deceitful, misleading or fraudulent manner. Should the types, terms and conditions of loans and financing be advertised, the Commissioner may require that they be carefully and clearly detailed through an order to such effect.
(3) Make promises to clients with the purpose of trying to induce them to engage in business activities, with the knowledge that said promises shall not be kept, or make any false representation about a material fact with the purpose of inducing them to an error.
(4) Use misrepresentation with the purpose of inducing or persuading a person to conduct business.
(5) Act as broker to a borrower when representing the money lender with whom he/she intends to negotiate the loan. However, this does not hinder the licensee from providing the service to the borrower, without collecting or accepting payment on account of the commission, or any charge whatsoever therefor.
(6) Unduly withhold any amount of money and/or document related to a transaction, or fail to inform a client as to his/her rights, or about any sum of money or documents which are part of a transaction.
(7) Induce one of the parties in a transaction to rescind a contract and enter into a new one, when the objective of the new contract is to benefit an institution or him/herself.
(8) Incur misappropriation or embezzlement of funds under his/her custody.
(9) Incur forgery of documents which are part of a transaction.
(10) Charge a double commission or service fee by charging both the money lender and the borrower. In any case in which the licensee receives compensation from a money lender for placing a loan or financing of any of his/her clients as a borrower, the client shall be under no obligation to pay any service charge to the licensee.
(11) Deposit clients’ funds together with his/her own funds.
(12) Induce or allow the client to sign blank loan applications, or have these available in any place other than the authorized place of business, so as to fill out the applications him/herself or have them filled out by the institution granting the loan or financing.
(13) Render, publish or make false reports or entries with the purpose of deceiving or defrauding any person or agent authorized by the Commissioner to examine his/her affairs.
(14) Compensate third parties directly or indirectly for the referral of cases.
(15) Use the term “bank” or “mortgage banker” as his/her business or trade name under which he/she conducts business.
(16) Incur in disloyal or illegal competence practices.
In addition, any person who participates, instigates or cooperates in the commission of these acts, whether he/she obtained personal economic benefit or not, will incur in a violation.
History —Oct. 14, 1995, No. 214, § 11; Aug. 11, 2000, No. 153, § 1; renumbered as § 10 and amended on Dec. 30, 2010, No. 248, § 9.