Small business: commercial financing transactions.

Existing law generally regulates the loaning of money, including the calculation of interest rates. Existing law, the California Financing Law (CFL) , prohibits a person from engaging in the business of a finance lender or broker without obtaining a license from the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. The CFL generally regulates commercial loans made by licensees. This bill would prohibit a covered entity from charging specified fees in connection with a commercial financing transaction with a small business or small business owner, including, among others, a fee for accepting or processing a payment required by the terms of the commercial financing contract as an automated clearinghouse transfer debit, except as specified, a fee for providing a small business with documentation prepared by the covered entity that contains a statement of the amount due to satisfy the remaining debt, as specified, and a fee in addition to a loan origination fee that does not have a clear corresponding service provided for the fee, as specified. If a covered entity violates these provisions, the bill would entitle a recipient to specified relief, including actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney's fees and costs. The bill would make a waiver of these provisions contrary to public policy and void and unenforceable. The bill would define various terms for these purposes.