SB 33: Commercial financing: disclosures.

Existing law requires a provider who extends a specific offer of commercial financing to a recipient, as defined, to disclose specified information relating to that transaction to the recipient and to obtain the recipients signature on that disclosure before consummating the commercial financing transaction. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, requires a provider to disclose the total cost of financing expressed as an annualized rate.

Existing law authorizes a provider who offers financing that is factoring or asset-based lending, in lieu of the disclosure described above, to provide an alternative disclosure that may be based on an example of a transaction that could occur under the general agreement for a given amount of accounts receivables and that meets specified requirements. Existing law, until January 1, 2024, requires that alternative disclosure to disclose the total cost of financing expressed as an annualized rate.

Existing law requires the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation to adopt regulations governing these disclosure requirements and requires those regulations to include specified information and determinations, including, among other things, the appropriate method to express the annualized rate and the types of fees and charges to be included in the calculation. Existing law makes providers subject to examination and enforcement by the commissioner under the California Financing Law (CFL) for any violation of these provisions or of any rule or order adopted pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The CFL authorizes the commissioner to bring an action to enjoin, as specified, against a person who, in the commissioners estimation, has violated or is about to violate the CFL and authorizes the imposition of civil penalties to that effect. A willful violation of the CFL is a crime, except as specified.

This bill would require providers to continue to include in the disclosures and alternative disclosures the total cost of financing expressed as an annualized rate, as described above, indefinitely. By expanding the scope of an existing crime with regard to willful violations of the CFL, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make conforming changes to the provisions describing the regulations adopted by the commissioner governing these disclosure requirements.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.