Banking & Finance

Our lending compliance attorneys will provide you the support you need to have peace of mind with every loan, including at the federal, state, and consumer levels.

Lending Compliance

Your business faces unique issues. You have probably been frustrated when working with law firms who do not appear to understand your business. They may be confused by the fact that you make business purpose loans secured by residential property and think that these are consumer loans. They may treat your transaction like a large commercial real estate loan when the transaction is much less formal and sophisticated. Our lending compliance attorneys are here to provide you the support you need to have peace of mind

50-State Expertise

Are you scaling a nationwide lending business? Are you struggling to find answers about whether your business needs to be licensed to make, broker, and service loans? Are you worried that your loan terms are not compliant and may be unenforceable? We built our business by partnering with the largest nationwide lenders to be their expert legal counsel.

Our comprehensive licensing and compliance surveys cover requirements for all parties through the life cycle of a business purpose mortgage loan.

Federal Compliance

Think that federal consumer laws do not apply to business purpose loans? Think again. Federal consumer laws such as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and other consumer laws all apply to business purposes loans. Our federal compliance lawyers are here to help with your questions.

Consumer Lending Compliance

Trying to stay up to date with the CFPB’s daily whims can be exhausting. Are you staying up worried that your consumer loans are compliant? TRID, high-cost loans, consumer bridge loans, and HELOCs, all have a myriad of compliance risks and advice. Our team of compliance experts can make sure you can sleep at night knowing that your lending practices are sound.

California Lending Compliance

California Department of Real Estate Compliance (California Real Estate Brokers)

Are you a real estate broker in California who is frustrated by the fact that the laws are always changing and you are worried that you are not complying? Did you know that California Real Estate Law places significant restrictions on construction loans, places limits on grace periods and maximum late charges, and imposes maximum loan to value limitations based on the collateral property type? Did you know that you need to send a report to the DRE if you fractionalize a single loan to multiple investors? Stop guessing, and have peace of mind knowing that our team of experts advises brokers in California on all aspects of their business.

Some of our common services include:

California Department of Business Oversight Compliance (California Finance Lender Law)

As a California Finance Lender, you have a powerful license that permits you and your team to work directly with borrowers and make loans which are afforded significant protections. Because great authority is provided under this license, California does highly regulate the practices of finance lenders. For example, unlike the DRE regulations, all team members must be employees and cannot be independent contractors. Also, unlike the DRE, the DBO has automatic mandatory forced audits. Additionally, the DBO has strict constraints regarding the ability to sell loans. We have significant expertise and experience navigating the nuances of the statutes and regulations governing CFLs, including deep industry contacts.

Some common services we provide for CFL licensees include:
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Lending Compliance Resources
California Compliance Toolkits For Private Lenders
Making Your Advertising Compliant
A Private Lender's Roadmap to State Privacy Laws
CFPB Continues to Regulate Private Lenders – The Small Business Lending Data Collection Rule
“Show Me the Equity!”
Origination Fees: DOs and DON’Ts for Mortgage Professionals
Qualifying your borrower: What Lenders Need to Know About Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance
Do you Know Your Borrower? Investor? A Private Lender’s Guide to AML and Red Flags
Compliance For Private Lenders
Making Sense of the Recording Process and Why You Should Record
Complying with California Threshold and Multi-Lender Broker Reporting Requirements
5 Things You Need to Know About Dodd-Frank
Three Things All Lenders Must Consider When Making a Cannabis Loan
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act: A New Regulatory Chapter for Lenders
8 Tips on Avoiding Usury in California
Usury Law 101: 5 Things to Know about Usury
Commercial Loan Basics: What Small Business Owners Need to Know When Seeking Alternative Financing
Understanding Deeds of Trust and Their Benefits
Pandemic and Privacy Do Not Mix
[COVID-19] 5 Terms to Include in Your Servicing Agreement with Lenders If You Are Brokering Loans
[COVID-19] Implications for California Tenant-Landlord Relationships
What to Do as a CIO to Prepare for Compliance with the CCPA
CCPA Is Here - What Lenders Need to Know Now
Unconscionability and Usury: Where Do You Draw the Line?
Records Retention Advice for California Real Estate Professionals
Clarifying California’s Complex Usury Laws
Tips on Becoming a Private Lender
What You Need to Know Before Lending To a Cannabis Business
Dodd-Frank's Effect on Hard Money Lending
What Seismic Retrofit Requirements Mean for Lenders and Investors

Contact Our Banking & Finance Team

Please note that our firm focuses primarily on private lenders. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist with consumer matters.