Commissioner of Corporations: lending practices: unlicensed activity report.

Existing law, the California Finance Lenders Law, provides for the licensure and regulation by the Commissioner of Corporations of licensees engaged in making consumer loans, as defined. Existing law requires these licensees to file an annual report with the commissioner concerning their business and operations. Existing law requires the commissioner to annually make and file with the department a composite of those annual reports. Existing law, the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law, provides for the licensure and regulation by the Commissioner of Corporations of persons engaged in the business of originating or making deferred deposit transactions, as defined. Existing law requires a licensee to file an annual report with the commissioner. Existing law requires the commissioner to prepare an annual consolidated report based upon specified information received from licensees. The Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 2 of the 2011–12 Regular Session provides that, on and after July 1, 2013, the responsibilities of the Department of Corporations and the Commissioner of Corporations shall be transferred to the Department of Business Oversight and the Deputy Commissioner of Business Oversight for the Division of Corporations. This bill would, on or before March 15 annually, require the commissioner to prepare a specified report on the lending and collection practices of unlicensed persons offering deferred deposit transactions or installment loans, or both, in amounts under $2,500, over the Internet, to persons in California, and on the enforcement actions taken by the commissioner against these persons. The bill would also require the commissioner to post on the department's Internet Web site the company names and Internet Web site addresses of unlicensed lenders offering those deferred deposit transactions or installment loans without a license from the commissioner. The bill would also require the commissioner to accompany this posting with a consumer warning that alerts Californians to the unlicensed nature of the activities being conducted by these lenders.