Monthly Bulletin – January 2024
Volume 11, Number 6
Crypto Kiosk List Due March 15
Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the “Digital Financial Assets Law” (DFAL) requires a digital financial asset transaction kiosk operator to provide the DFPI with a list of all locations of kiosks that the operator owns, operates, or manages in California. The DFAL also requires a kiosk operator to submit updates to the Department within 30 days of any changes, and places additional obligations for kiosk operators.
For more information on the law along with information on how to submit the kiosk location list, please visit dfpi.ca.gov/dfal-kiosk.
Contents
Proposed DCLA Regulations – Comment Deadline Jan. 15
The Commissioner invites interested parties to submit comments on the second draft of proposed regulations for the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA),including a description of the potential financial impact of the draft regulations. Regulations implementing the application requirements under the DCLA became effective on Dec. 22, 2021. On Aug. 19, 2021, the Commissioner released an invitation to comment on an anticipated subsequent rulemaking related to the scope, annual report, and bond amount increase provisions of the DCLA. On July 15, 2022, The Commissioner released a draft text related to the scope, annual report, and document retention requirements of the DCLA for public comment. The Commissioner has made changes to July 2022 draft and released it for a second round of prenotice public comment. This draft concerns only the scope and document retention requirements of the DCLA. Annual report requirements will be adopted through a separate rulemaking. The invitation and questions may be found here:
Interested parties should submit comments electronically, by Jan. 15, 2024, to regulations@dfpi.ca.gov. Include “PRO 05-21” in the subject line. Comments may also be submitted via regular mail by sending to: Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Legal Division Attn: DeEtte Phelps, Regulations Coordinator 2101 Arena Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95834 Questions regarding this invitation for comments may be directed to Emily Gallagher, DFPI Senior Counsel, at emily.gallagher@dfpi.ca.gov.
Some Escrow Reports Due Jan. 16
Escrow agents are required to submit to the Commissioner an annual report prepared by an independent certified public accountant or an independent public accountant (Financial Code section 17406) within 105 days after the close of the escrow agent’s fiscal year. The annual report includes audited financial statements and required supplemental information.
If your fiscal year ended on Sep. 30, 2023, your annual report is due Jan. 16, 2024. Please have your CPA email your report to ESCAnnualReportFiling@dfpi.ca.gov by the deadline using a secured, encrypted delivery system. The use of a secured dropbox is also acceptable. If your CPA is unable to submit the annual report electronically, it can be mailed to Queen Padilla, Senior Financial Institutions Examiner, Escrow Law, Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, 320 West Fourth Street, Suite 750, Los Angeles, CA 90013.
Penalties for failure to file the annual report by the due date or to include required information are $100 per day for the first five days a report is late and $500 per day thereafter (Financial Code section 17408). Failure to file a report or to include any required information may also result in the suspension or revocation of an escrow agent’s license or prompt an immediate examination (Financial Code section 17602.5).
For questions about the annual reports, email Escrow.Licensing@dfpi.ca.gov.
2023 Escrow Annual Liability Report Due Feb. 15
All escrow agents licensed prior to Jan. 1, 2024, must submit an Annual Liability Report to the DFPI. The Annual Liability Report form is now available on DFPI’s website here. The deadline to submit the Annual Liability Report electronically is Feb. 15, 2024.
A DFPI portal account is required to submit the Annual Liability Report. To register for a portal account, go to DFPI’s website here. Licensees are strongly encouraged to begin gathering the data to ensure they can timely file the Annual Liability Report. Failure to submit the Annual Liability Report by the deadline may result in monetary penalties pursuant to Financial Code section 17408.
For questions, please email ESCLiabilityReportFiling@dfpi.ca.gov.
2023 Annual Reports for CRMLA, CFL, CDDTL, SLSA, and DCLA Due in March
Annual reports for 2023 for DFPI Mortgage Lending (CRMLA), Finance Lenders (CFL), Payday Lenders (CDDTL), Student Loan Services (SLSA) and Debt Collectors (DCLA) are due in March.
A registered DFPI portal account is required to submit the Annual Report. To register for a portal account, go to the DFPI’s website here. Licensees are strongly encouraged to begin gathering the data early to ensure timely filing of the 2023 Annual Report.
California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA)
Licensees under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA) must file their 2023 annual report electronically by March 1, 2024. Missing the deadline may result in penalty assessments; failure to file constitutes grounds for license revocation. For questions about the content of the Report or clarification on the instructions, please email CRMLA.Exams@dfpi.ca.gov.
California Financing Law (CFL)
All DFPI licensees under the California Financing Law (CFL) are required to submit an annual report on or before March 15, 2024, even if the licensee had no business activity in the calendar year 2023. Failure to submit the annual report by the due date will result in penalties pursuant to Financial Code section 22715(b). Click here for a penalty matrix reflecting the penalties assessable based on the late-filing date. For questions about the content of the Report or clarification on the instructions, please email CFL.AnnualReport@dfpi.ca.gov or call (866) 275-2677.
California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law (CDDTL)
All licensees under the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law (CDDTL), also known as payday lending, must submit an Annual Report and Industry Survey (Annual Report) to the DFPI by March 15, 2024, even if the licensee had no business activity in calendar year 2023. Failure to submit the Annual Report by the deadline may result in financial penalties pursuant to Financial Code section 23058 or summary revocation pursuant to Financial Code section 23053. For questions about the content of the Report or clarification on the instructions, please email RespondToCDDTL@dfpi.ca.gov.
Student Loan Servicing Act (SLSA)
Each student loan servicer is required to file an annual report with the DFPI on or before March 15, 2024, per Financial Code Section 28146(a) of the Student Loan Servicing Act (SLSA). All student loan servicers licensed prior to Jan. 1, 2023, must file the report, even if no business was conducted. Failure to submit the Annual Report by the due date may result in penalties pursuant to Financial Code Section 28154. For questions about the content of the Report or clarification on the instructions, please email the Student Loan Servicing Program at studentloanservicing@dfpi.ca.gov.
Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA)
All licensees under the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA) must submit an Annual Report to the DFPI by March 15, 2024, per Financial Code section 100021(a) (1) – (4), (6) and (7). For questions about the content of the Report or clarification on the instructions, please email DCLA.Inquiries@dfpi.ca.gov or call (916) 576-8623.
Mortgage Lending Holden Act Reports Due March 31
Mortgage lending licensees must file their Residential Mortgage Loan Report for calendar year 2023 (Holden Act Report) no later than March 31, 2024.
The Holden Act Report must be filed by all State-licensed residential mortgage lenders that do not report the data to a federal or State regulatory agency as provided by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975.
Licensees should consult with their internal compliance officers regarding whether they are required to file the report. Instructions and reporting forms may be found at the DFPI website here.
Completed reports may be scanned and emailed on or before March 31 to Holden.Inquiries@dfpi.ca.gov. Information regarding the report may be obtained by calling (866) 275-2677.
REMINDER: Banks and Credit Unions to Report Fee Income from NSF and Overdraft Charges
State-chartered banks and credit unions are required to report annually to the DFPI the revenue received from fees on nonsufficient funds and overdraft charges during the calendar year. The requirement is per Financial Code section 521. These reports are due by March 1 so the DFPI can publish the information on its website by March 31.
On Dec. 29, the DFPI sent an email with a report link to the designated email address of each reporting institution. Please refer to the FAQs or contact Marilyn Davis at marilyn.davis@dfpi.ca.gov (banks) or Kim-Phuong Hoang at kim-phuong.hoang@dfpi.ca.gov (credit unions) for more information.
Consumer Webinar Feb. 7
The DFPI hosts a monthly consumer financial education webinar exploring a new topic every month. Each webinar includes guest speakers and a Q&A session. Everyone who registers for these webinars will be emailed a link to the recording and a copy of the slides. Past presentations in the series may be viewed on the DFPI YouTube site. The next webinar is scheduled for Feb. 7:
How to Build Generational Wealth
Wed., Feb. 7 at 12 p.m. PST
Building generational wealth involves making strategic financial decisions over time to accumulate assets and resources that can be passed down to future generations. Join this webinar to learn about how you can build and maintain generational wealth! Registration.
National Community Development Lending Data for 2022
On Dec. 20, federal bank regulatory agencies, as members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), released data on small business, small farm, and community development lending during 2022. The Community Reinvestment Act regulations require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FED), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to annually disclose these data.
The FFIEC also prepared aggregate disclosure statements of small business and small farm lending for all the metropolitan statistical areas and non-metropolitan counties in the United States and its territories. The statements are available here. Also available is a fact sheet on the 2022 data.
LICENSEE ACTIVITY
Commercial Bank Activity
Merger
Banc of California, National Association, Santa Ana, to merge with and into Pacific Western Bank, Beverly Hills, with the surviving bank to be renamed to Banc of California
Effected: 12/01/23
Credit Union Activity
Merger
Allied Healthcare Federal Credit Union, Long Beach, to merge with and into Southland Credit Union, Los Alamitos
Filed: 12/12/23
Airco Federal Credit Union, Pasadena, to merge with and into Arrowhead Central Credit Union, Rancho Cucamonga
Approved: 12/01/23
Effected: 12/01/23
Trust Company Activity
New Trust Company
Los Angeles Private Trust Company
8730 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood
Abandoned: 12/07/23
Premium Finance Company Activity
Voluntary Surrender
Economy Premium Finance, Inc.
660 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach
Effected: 12/20/23
Prime Rate Premium Finance of California, Inc.
3111 Camino Del Rio N, San Diego
Effected: 12/20/23
Foreign (Other State) Bank Activity
New Facility
New Millennium Bank
2970 W. Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles (Facility – insured bank)
Notified: 12/27/23
Discontinuance of Facility
University Bank
10138 Commercial Avenue, Penn Valley (Facility – insured bank)
Discontinued: 12/31/23
Change of Name
Ronald Blue Trust, to change its name to Blue Trust, Inc. (Facility – non-insured bank)
Effected: 12/04/23
Money Transmitter Activity
New Money Transmitter
Booking Holdings Financial Services USA LLC
Filed: 12/20/23
Change of Name
Alipay US, Inc. to change its name to AUS Merchant Services, Inc.
Effected: 12/20/23
CLOTHILDE V. HEWLETT Commissioner, Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
The January 2024 Monthly Bulletin covers the month ended December 31, 2023.
It is issued pursuant to Financial Code section 376.
The Monthly Bulletin is available at no charge via e-mail.
To subscribe, go to: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/CADFI/subscriber/new.
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