California's blue sky law, the Corporate Securities Law of 1968, generally requires that offers and sales of securities be qualified unless the security or transaction is exempt or not subject to qualification. Most...more
Last week, Assembly Member Grayson gutted and amended AB 2269 so as to create a "Digital Financial Assets Law". This law would require persons engaging in digital financial asset business activity to be licensed or...more
Yesterday, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s (DFPI) proposed commercial financing disclosure regulations. The DFPI adopted these regulations pursuant...more
In September 2018, then Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1235 into law. SB 1235 added a new division to the Financial Code imposing specific loan disclosure requirements on providers of commercial financings. These...more
In accordance with Governor Gavin Newsom's executive order, California's Department of Financial Protection & Innovation is soliciting coments concerning crypto asset related financial products. The DFPI's invitation for...more
Last Friday, the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation issued a warning about "romance scams and cryptocurrency". This warning is similar to one issued this month by the North American Securities Administrators...more
In 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation established the Office of Ombuds [sic]. According to the Department, the purpose of the office is "to act as an independent, impartial, and...more
As was widely noted last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a lengthy executive order with respect to blockchain technology. According to the Governor's press release, the order aims to "aims to create a...more
On Wednesday, President Biden announced that he has nominated Mark Uyeda to serve as a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mark's work history as an attorney at the SEC should equip him well to serve as a...more
March 15 was the deadline established by California's Department of Financial Protection & Innovation for licensees under the California Financing Law to transition to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. I recently...more
California's Public Records Act, Cal. Gov't Code § 6250 et seq., provides for public access to California state and local government records. The PRA defines "public records" broadly to include "any writing containing...more
Last week, Opportunity Financial, LLC filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation's alleged threat to take enforcement action for violating AB 539, the so-called Fair Access to Credit Act. ...more
Last Friday, Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett issued guidance concerning the "situation in Ukraine and Russia". The guidance reminds licensees of their obligations under federal, and to a lesser extent, California law. ...more
The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation's Broker-Dealer/Investment Adviser (BDIA) program licenses and regulates investment advisers, investment adviser representatives, broker-dealers, and...more
Enforcement actions by the California Department of Financial Protection typically involve either administrative proceedings or civil actions in the California state courts. Recently, however, the DFPI announced that it and...more
In 1988, the California legislature enacted a unique fairness opinion requirement for certain "interested party" tender offers, including a share exchange tender offers (Section 183.5) or written proposals for a written a...more
Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom met the constitutional deadline for submitting a proposed budget. Cal. Const. Art. IV, § 12(a). The release of the budget kicks of a prolonged legislative process. In the next several...more
Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Gathering Your Data!
If you are a licensee under the California Financing Law, you are required to submit an annual report to the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation no later than...more
California's new Debt Collection Licensing Act, Cal. Fin. Code § 100000 et seq., took effect on January 1, 2022. However, the legislature's inartful and inconsistent draftsmanship has resulted in a great deal of uncertainty...more
California had been one of 16 states that did not require licensing of debt collectors. That changed last year with the enactment of the Debt Collection Licensing Act. 2020 Cal. Stats. ch. 163 (SB 908). The law takes...more
Last August, I alerted readers of this blog to the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation's determination to require all existing licensees under the California Financing Law to transition to the Nationwide...more
California's Department of Financial Protection & Innovation has complied this summary of new laws that affect or may otherwise be of interest to persons licensed by the department. In general, these laws will take effect on...more
The California Department of Financial Protection is warning consumers that "companies that may be engaging in unlicensed activity and/or falsely advertising cryptocurrency products and services"...more
10/26/2021
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Blockchain ,
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Cryptocurrency ,
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Virtual Currency
It seems that no one's identity is immune from theft, including financial regulators. Last week, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation announced that it received a complaint from a California...more
As 2021 begins drawing to close, the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation has released its 2020 Annual Report of Finance Lenders, Brokers, and PACE Administrators Licensed Under the California Financing Law. ...more