SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Dec 2018

 

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Financial Protections for Small Businesses in CA

Small Businesses in California will get protection from predatory lenders starting 1 January 2019.

 

Amendments to the California Financing Law (CFL) will provide small businesses in California that borrow from $5,000 to $500,000, protection from lenders that charge high interest rates, hidden fees and unfavorable lending terms. 

 

The new law requires all online lenders to disclose the following when they offer financing of between $5,000 and $500,000 to a business owner:

 

Total amount of financing

Total cost of financing

Term length

The method, frequency and amount of payments

Prepayment policies

Annualized rate

 

The law will cover traditional term loans, lines of credit, merchant cash advances, lease financing, factoring, and asset-based financing.

 

Lenders will be prohibited from making a materially false or misleading statement to a borrower about the terms or conditions of a loan.

 

The law applies to lending institutions such as banks, trust companies, or industrial loan companies doing business under the authority of, or in accordance with, a license, certificate, or charter issued by the United States, the state of California, or any other state, district, territory, or commonwealth of the United States that is authorized to transact business in California.

 

The law does not apply to lending institutions such as federally chartered savings and loan association, federal savings bank, or federal credit union that is authorized to transact business in this state.

Sources:
Senate Bill No. 1235

By Bill Williams