Last week, Senator Steven M. Glazer introduced a bill, SB 1482, that would require licensing of "commercial financing providers" and "commercial financing brokers" with the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation...more
Each year, licensees under the California Financing Law (Cal. Fin. Code § 22000 et seq.) must file an annual report with the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation. The report is due on the Ides of March (the Ides...more
In October, I reported on the Governor's signing of AB 39 which creates the Digital Financial Assets Law. On or after July 1, 2025, the DFAL will prohibit a person from engaging in digital financial asset business activity...more
In June of 2022, I reported on the adoption of commercial financial disclosure rules by the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation. These rules were adopted pursuant legislation, SB 1235, that was enacted...more
While the California Financing Law defines "finance lender", it does so in a very open-ended and nonspecific manner. Cal. Fin. Code § 22009 ("'Finance lender' includes any person who is engaged in the business of making...more
A year ago, Governor Newsom vetoed a bill, AB 2269, which would have established a Digital Financial Assets Law. At the time, the Governor claimed that it was "premature to lock a licensing structure in statute". What a...more
Last week, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation issued a warning about yet another fraudster's attempt to separate investors from their money...more
The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation recently posted its 2023 Annual Report to the Legislature regarding its broker-dealer and investment adviser programs. The report's title is a bit of a misnomer...more
Three years ago, Governor Newsom signed AB 1864 into law. This legislation gave the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation the authority to define unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices in connection with...more
In February, I wrote that Assembly Member Timothy S. Grayson was taking another run at enacting a Digital Financial Asset Law. His bill, AB 39, has steadily progressed and is now pending in the Senate. According to the...more
Early this week, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued desist and refrain orders alleging violations by the following individual and entities...more
In April, I reported on SB 54 (Skinner), a bill that would have required institutional Investors, securities and real estate brokers, and others to report on the diversity status of "founding teams". At the time, I...more
It seems as if using the Internet has become as dangerous as walking alone down a dark alley in a crime infested area of the city. Today, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation issued the following...more
Yesterday, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation announced that it had issued a desist and refrain order against Coinbase, Inc. The order alleges that Coinbase's staking rewards program involved the...more
Yesterday, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation joined with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Securities Enforcement Branch in...more
Yesterday, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation published a 74-page report on its oversight and regulation of Silicon Valley Bank. As explained in this earlier post, the bank was a state chartered...more
As has been widely reported, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation announced that it has taken possession of another California chartered bank - First Republic Bank. This is the second California...more
As I discussed in this post from earlier this month, SB 54 would have required institutional investors, securities and real estate brokers, and others to report diversity status of startup founding teams. The bill has since...more
In honor of Earth Day, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation is promoting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing on its website: "Embracing Sustainable Investment Practices with ESG...more
State Senator Nancy Skinner recently rewrote SB 54 to require "institutional investors" to submit annually to the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation reports disclosing the following...more
I have devoted several posts to a California commercial loan disclosure law that was enacted in 2018 - SB 1235 (Glazer). Although the bill became effective on January 1, 2019, lenders were not obligated to comply until the...more
The closure of Silicon Valley Bank has understandably attracted a lot of attention. There are, however, other ways to lose money when banking. The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation recently issued...more
Silicon Valley Bank was chartered by the State of California and was subject to the supervision of the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation. The DFPI was not the bank's regulator. The bank had adopted...more
The big financial news on Friday was the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. According to the DFPI's order, an announcement of a capital raise by the bank triggered a run on the bank...more
Lenders and brokers licensed under the California Finance Lenders Law must file an annual report by the Ides of March (i.e., March 15) of each year. Cal. Fin. Code § 22159. This is a hard deadline and the Department of...more