22372
. (a) A finder may perform one or more of the following
services for a licensee at the finder's physical location for
business:
(1) Distributing, circulating, using, or publishing preprinted
brochures, flyers, factsheets, or other written materials relating to
loans that the licensee may make or negotiate and that have been
reviewed and approved in writing by the licensee prior to their being
distributed, circulated, or published.
(2) Providing written factual information about loan terms,
conditions, or qualification requirements to a prospective borrower
that has been either prepared by the licensee or reviewed and
approved in writing by the licensee. A finder may discuss that
information with a prospective borrower in general terms, but may not
provide counseling or advice to a prospective borrower.
(3) Notifying a prospective borrower of the information needed in
order to complete a loan application without providing counseling or
advice to a prospective borrower.
(4) Entering information provided by the prospective borrower on a
preprinted or electronic application form or onto a preformatted
computer database without providing counseling or advice to a
prospective borrower.
(5) Assembling credit applications and other materials obtained in
the course of a credit application transaction for submission to the
licensee.
(6) Contacting the licensee to determine the status of a loan
application.
(7) Communicating a response that is returned by the licensee's
automated underwriting system to a borrower or a prospective
borrower.
(8) Obtaining a borrower's signature on documents prepared by the
licensee and delivering final copies of the documents to the
borrower.
(b) A finder that is licensed or regulated pursuant to this
division, Division 1.1 (commencing with Section 1000), Division 1.2
(commencing with Section 2000), Division 3 (commencing with Section
12000), Division 5 (commencing with Section 14000), Division 6
(commencing with Section 17000), Division 7 (commencing with Section
18000), Division 8 (commencing with Section 21000), Division 10
(commencing with Section 23000), or Division 20 (commencing with
Section 50000) of this code; Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1621)
of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Insurance Code; Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 5000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions
Code; is an approved agent of a person licensed pursuant to Division
1.2 (commencing with Section 2000) of this code; or is a federally
regulated bank, thrift, or credit union, may additionally provide any
of the following services on behalf of the licensee for any loan for
which the finder performed finding activities:
(1) Disbursing loan proceeds to a borrower, if this method of
disbursement is acceptable to the borrower.
(A) Any loan disbursement made by a finder under this subdivision
shall be deemed made by the licensee on the date the funds are
disbursed or otherwise made available by the finder to the borrower.
(B) A finder that disburses loan proceeds to a borrower shall
deliver or cause to be delivered to the borrower at the time loan
proceeds are disbursed a plain and complete receipt showing all of
the following:
(i) The date of disbursement.
(ii) The total amount disbursed.
(iii) The corresponding loan account identification.
(iv) The following statement, prominently displayed in a type size
equal to or greater than the type size used to display the other
items on the receipt: "If you have any questions about your loan, now
or in the future, you should direct those questions to [name of
licensee] by [insert at least two different ways in which a borrower
may contact the licensee]."
(2) Receiving loan payment or payments from the borrower, if this
method of payment is acceptable to the borrower.
(A) Any loan payment made by a borrower to a finder under this
subdivision shall be applied to the borrower's loan and deemed
received by the licensee as of the date the payment is received by
the finder.
(B) A finder that receives loan payments under this subdivision
shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the borrower at the time
that the payment is made by the borrower, a plain and complete
receipt showing all of the following:
(i) The name of the finder.
(ii) The total payment amount received.
(iii) The date of payment.
(iv) The corresponding loan account identification upon which the
payment is being applied.
(v) The loan balance prior to and following application of the
payment.
(vi) The amount of the payment that was applied to principal,
interest, and fees.
(vii) The type of payment, such as cash, automated clearing house
(ACH) transfer, check, money order, or debit card.
(viii) The following statement, prominently displayed in a type
size equal to or greater than the type size used to display the other
items on the receipt: "If you have any questions about your loan,
now or in the future, you should direct those questions to [name of
licensee] by [insert at least two different ways in which a borrower
may contact the licensee]."
(C) A borrower who submits a loan payment to a finder under this
subdivision shall not be liable for any failure or delay by the
finder in transmitting the payment to the licensee.
(D) A finder that disburses or receives loan payments pursuant to
this subdivision shall maintain records of all disbursements made and
loan payments received for a period of at least two years or until
one month following the completion of an examination of the licensee
by the commissioner, whichever is later. The commissioner shall
determine when an examination is complete.
(3) Providing any notice or disclosure required to be provided to
the borrower by the licensee, other than the notice required to be
provided by the licensee to the borrower pursuant to subdivision (d)
of Section 22373. A licensee that uses a finder to provide notices or
disclosures to borrowers shall maintain a record of which notices
and disclosures each finder provides to borrowers on its behalf, for
the purpose of facilitating the commissioner's examination of the
licensee.
(c) A finder shall not engage in either of the following
activities:
(1) Providing counseling or advice to a borrower or prospective
borrower.
(2) Providing loan-related marketing material that has not
previously been approved by the licensee to a borrower or a
prospective borrower.
(d) Any person who performs one or more of the following
activities is a broker within the meaning of Section 22004 rather
than a finder within the meaning of this section:
(1) Negotiating the price, length, or any other loan term between
a licensee and a prospective borrower.
(2) Advising either a prospective borrower or a licensee as to any
loan term.
(3) Offering information pertaining to a single prospective
borrower to more than one licensee, except that, if a licensee has
declined to offer a loan to a prospective borrower and has so
notified that prospective borrower in writing, the person may then
offer information pertaining to a single prospective borrower to
another licensee with which it has a finder's agreement.
(4) Personally contacting or providing services to a borrower or
prospective borrower at any place other than the finder's physical
location for business.
(e) A finder shall comply with all laws applicable to the licensee
that impose requirements upon the licensee for safeguards for
information security.