P.R. Laws tit. 7, § 1075
(a) License application.—
(1) Any person interested in obtaining a license to engage in the financial intermediation business shall file a sworn application with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions along with all the required information and on the forms provided therefor by the Office.
(2) A licensee that is a juridical person shall include in its application the name, mailing and residential address of its registered agent in Puerto Rico, including his/her appointment in writing designating him/her as its agent to receive service of process or other notices, unless the licensee has appointed another agent for these purposes under any other law of Puerto Rico, in which case the licensee must furnish to the Commissioner the name, mailing and residential address of such agent, as well as an original sworn document to such purposes.
(3) The Commissioner may waive any application requirement and allow the applicant to file other information in lieu of that generally required in the application, if he/she determines that such action is consistent with the purposes of this chapter, which he/she shall so state in writing in the file itself of said application or filing.
(4) The license application shall enclose the annual license fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per office, as well as the investigation fee of five hundred dollars ($500), to be paid by certified check to the order of the Secretary of the Treasury. If the license were to be issued after June 30 of any year, the annual license fee shall be five hundred dollars ($500) for that year. If the cost of the investigation exceeds the aforementioned amount, the Commissioner shall notify the applicant that, in order to continue with the licensing process, such applicant shall deposit with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions the necessary amount to cover such cost, which shall never exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per office.
(5) Every application for a license to engage in the financial intermediation business filed with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions shall be subject to the investigations that the Commissioner may deem necessary and appropriate in order to determine whether the applicant, as well as its partners, stockholders, directors, and executive officers or, if a juridical person, meet the requirements established in this chapter.
(6) The Commissioner may extend the period of time provided by law and/or regulations in order to consider the license application.
(7) An incomplete application shall not be deemed to be filed and the applicant shall be so notified within the ten (10) days after the filing thereof by means of a certified letter from the Commissioner.
(8) Every application for or renewal of a license to engage in the financial intermediation business shall include a surety bond to ensure faithful compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules or regulations that may be adopted thereunder by the Commissioner. Said surety bond shall answer to any person, including the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, and shall in an amount not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The Commissioner may require a surety bond in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and up to a maximum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) based on the business volume of the licensee and on financial solvency thereof. The surety bond may consist of:
(A) A bond issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in Puerto Rico by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, which shall be subject to cancellation only through a written notification to the Commissioner within not less than thirty (30) days before the cancellation thereof; or
(B) bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness in effect of the Government of Puerto Rico, its municipalities, and public corporations; these shall be accepted up to eighty percent (80%) of their market value at all times; or
(C) certificates of deposit issued in the name of the Commissioner by banks authorized to do business in Puerto Rico; or
(D) letters of credit issued in the name of the Commissioner by authorized banks.
The values indicated in paragraph (B) above shall be deposited with a custodian acceptable to the Commissioner and may be registered, with respect to principal thereof, in the name of the petitioner or licensee and shall include a separate endorsement in favor of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions describing the endorsed values. Said values shall not be withdrawn without the express authorization of the Commissioner. Certificates of deposit shall be delivered to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and may not be cancelled without the express authorization of the Commissioner.
The petitioner or the licensee shall be entitled to substitute the values deposited as security or any part thereof for eligible values of a sum that is equal to or greater than the same. All values deposited as security pursuant to this chapter shall be released and returned to the petitioner or licensee: when the liability of the petitioner or licensee for which the surety was deposited has substantially extinguished; or up to the amount in which said deposit exceeds the sum required; or by the due order of a court with competent jurisdiction. In no case shall there be a release except through a petition directed to the Commissioner and by an order of said official based on evidence of the existence of said grounds that is satisfactory to him/her. The Commissioner shall not be personally liable for the release of any of said deposits or portion thereof when the same has been made in good faith.
The Commissioner may require a licensee to post a new surety bond when a claim is filed against the surety in effect. If the Commissioner determines that the bond or surety posted is inadequate, deficient as to its amount, or that it has been exhausted fully or partially, he/she may require, through an order, the posting of a new bond or supplementary bond or the deposit of new or additional sureties within thirty (30) days following the presentation of the notification to the licensee.
(9) A person who wishes to obtain or renew a license to engage in the financial intermediation business shall maintain a capital of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), which shall be liquid for use in the administration of the business in each authorized office.
(b) Issuance of license.—
(1) Once the application is filed and fees are paid, the Commissioner shall carry out such investigations as he/she may deem necessary, and if he/she finds that the financial responsibility, the business experience, character, and general fitness of the applicant reasonably warrant the belief that the business shall be administered lawfully and fairly in accordance with the purposes of this chapter, and that the granting of such license shall promote the convenience and advantage of the community in which the business is to be conducted, the Commissioner may grant the application and issue the license, which shall be an authorization to operate according to the provisions of this chapter.
(2) The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions shall issue one (1) license per office. Each license shall contain the name of the licensee, the address of the office where the business shall operate, the date of issuance and the effective term of the license. A license issued to engage in the financial intermediation business is nontransferrable and shall be conspicuously placed in the office.
(3) A licensee may only engage in the financial intermediation business under this chapter at or from the authorized office. Said license shall not be used in a location or business other than the address shown therein.
(4) If a licensee wishes to change the location of an authorized office, he/she shall notify the Commissioner of such intent at least sixty (60) days prior to the date on which he/she shall begin operations at the new office. If no objection from the Commissioner is received within fifteen (15) business days from the date of the application for change of location, such change shall be deemed to be approved.
(c) Return of application or denial of license.—
(1) Upon analyzing the application, the Commissioner may deny the same in writing due, but not limited, to the following:
(A) The application was not filed as provided in this chapter or the rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.
(B) The application lacks information or sufficient documents in order to be evaluated.
(C) Authorization is sought to engage in a business not authorized in the Government of Puerto Rico.
(2) If the Commissioner returns the application, the amount paid on account of investigation and license fees shall be refunded to the applicant.
(3) The Commissioner may deny an application for a license to engage in a financial intermediation business if, upon analyzing the application and conducting the corresponding investigation he/she understands that the applicant has failed to meet some of the requirements established by this chapter, if the that entails moral turpitude, including but not limited to, an act of fraud, dishonesty, falsification, or money laundering, among others.
(4) An applicant whose application for license to engage in the financial intermediation business has been denied may request reconsideration from the Commissioner within twenty (20) days after the notice of denial.
(5) In the event that the Commissioner denies a license, he/she shall retain the amount paid for investigation costs and refund the license fee to the applicant.
History —Oct. 14, 1995, No. 214, § 6; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 248, § 4; Mar. 26, 2012, No. 60, § 3.