(a) A borrower may prepay a loan in full at any time.
(b) If interest charged pursuant to § 2229 of this title in respect to a loan has been precomputed and taken in advance, then, in the event of prepayment of the entire indebtedness, the licensee shall refund to such borrower the unearned portion of the precomputed interest charge. This refund shall be in an amount not less than the amount which would be refunded if the unearned precomputed interest charge were calculated in accordance with the actuarial method, except that the borrower shall not be entitled to a refund which is less than $5. The unearned portion of the precomputed interest charge is, at the option of the licensee, either:
(1) That portion of the precomputed interest charge which is allocable to all originally scheduled or, if deferred, all deferred payment periods, or portions thereof, ending subsequent to the date of prepayment. The unearned precomputed interest charge is the total of that which would have been earned for each such period, or portion thereof, had the loan not been precomputed, by applying to unpaid balances of principal, according to the actuarial method, an annual percentage rate based on the precomputed interest charges, assuming that all payments were made as scheduled, or as deferred, if deferred. The licensee, at its option, may round this annual percentage rate to the nearest one quarter of 1 percent; or
(2) The total precomputed interest charge less the earned precomputed interest charge. The earned precomputed interest charge shall be determined by applying an annual percentage rate based on the total precomputed interest charge, under the actuarial method, to the unpaid balances for the actual time those balances were unpaid up to the date of prepayment.
(c) As used in subsection (b) of this section:
(1) “Actuarial method” means the method of allocating payments made on a loan between the outstanding balance of the loan and interest pursuant to which a payment is applied first to the accumulated interest and any remainder is subtracted from the outstanding balance of the loan.
(2) “Precomputed interest charge” means interest as computed by the add-on, discount or other similar method.
(3) “Payment period” means the time period within which periodic installment payments of a loan are due as provided in the agreement governing the loan.
(d) If a charge was made for premiums for insuring such borrower under an insurance policy pursuant to § 2233 of this title, then, in the event of prepayment, the licensee shall refund to such borrower the excess of the charge to such borrower therefor over the premiums paid or payable to the licensee, if such premiums were paid or payable to the licensee periodically, or the refund for such insurance premium received or receivable by the licensee, if such premium was paid or payable in a lump sum by the licensee, provided that no such refund shall be required if it amounts to less than $5.
(e) In connection with any prepayment of any loan by an individual borrower, the licensee may not impose any prepayment charge, except that in the case of a residential mortgage loan, the lender may charge and collect any prepayment penalty or charge specified in the agreement governing, or the bond, note or other evidence of, the loan.