Sec. 1. 9-A MRSA §1-301, sub-§17, as amended by PL 1995, c. 326, §1, is further amended to read:

17. "Creditor" means a person who both:

A. Regularly extends credit in consumer credit transactions; and

B. Is the person to whom the debt arising from the consumer credit transactions is initially payable on the face of the evidence of indebtedness or, if there is no such evidence of indebtedness, by agreement. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, a person who regularly arranges for the extension of consumer credit from persons who are not creditors is a creditor and, in the case of an open-end credit plan involving a credit card, the card issuer and any person who honors the credit card and offers a discount that is a finance charge are creditors.

For the purposes of the requirements imposed under section 8-205, subsection 1, paragraphs E, F, G, and subsection 2, paragraphs A, B, C, D, I, K, and Article VIII 8, Parts 3 and 4, the term "creditor" also includes card issuers whether or not the amount due is payable by agreement in more than 4 installments or the payment of a finance charge is or may be required, and the administrator shall, by regulation, apply these requirements to those card issuers, to the extent appropriate, even though the requirements are by their terms applicable only to creditors offering open-end credit plans.

A person regularly extends consumer credit only if that person extended credit more than 25 times, or more than 5 times for transactions secured by a dwelling, in the preceding calendar year. If a person did not meet these numerical standards in the preceding calendar year, the numerical standards must be applied to the current calendar year.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any person who originates 2 or more high-rate, high-fee mortgages as defined in section 8-103, subsection F-1 in any 12-month period or any person who originates one or more such mortgages through a credit services organization loan broker as defined in Article X 10 of this Act in any 12-month period is considered a creditor.

Sec. 2. 9-A MRSA §10-101, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 70, §3, is amended to read:

§ 10-101. Short title