The Department of Business Oversight is more than a securities regulator. When I headed the Department of Corporations, it was also a health care regulator - administering and enforcing California's Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1340 et seq. That authority was later transferred to the newly created Department of Managed Health Care. In 2013 the Department of Corporations and the Department of Financial Institutions had merged to form the Department of Business Oversight. In my estimation, the merger was, and remains, a mistake that has done little to improve the regulatory oversight of the former departments.
Given this history, it should be no surprise that the DBO's oversight is divided between the Division of Corporations and the Division of Financial Institutions. Broadly speaking, the Division of Corporations is a disclosure oriented regulator while the Division of Financial Institutions is primarily a prudential regulator. Below is a list of the laws administered by each of these divisions.
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Division of Corporations
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Division of Financial Institutions
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Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
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Banks
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California Deferred Deposit Originators (commonly known as “Payday Lenders”)
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Business and Industrial Development Corporations (BIDCO)
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California Finance Lenders
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Credit Unions
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California Residential Mortgage Lenders
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Foreign (Other Nation) Banks
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Capital Access Company Law
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Foreign (Other State) Banks
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Check Sellers, Bill Payers and Proraters
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Industrial Banks
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Escrow Agents/ Escrow Law
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Local Agency Security Program
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Franchises (Franchise Investment Law)
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Money Transmitters
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Mortgage Loan Originators
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Premium Finance Companies
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PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Program Administrators
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Trust Companies and Departments
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Responsible Small Dollar Loans (Pilot Program)
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Securities (Corporate Securities Law of 1968)
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Student Loan Servicers
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