31820-31829
FINANCIAL CODE
SECTION 31820-31829
31820. In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Adviser," when used with respect to a licensee, means any person who regularly provides legal, accounting, or management services or advice to such licensee. (b) "Associate," when used with respect to a licensee, means: (1) Any principal shareholder, director, officer, manager, agent, or adviser of such licensee; (2) Any director, officer, partner, general manager, agent, employer, or employee of any person referred to in paragraph (1) of this subdivision; (3) Any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, any person referred to in paragraph (1) of this subdivision, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries; (4) Any close relative of any person referred to in paragraph (1) of this subdivision; (5) Any person of which any person referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of this subdivision is a director or officer; or (6) Any person in which any person referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of this subdivision or any combination of such persons acting in concert owns or controls, directly or indirectly, a 10 percent or greater equity interest. (7) For purposes of this subdivision, any person who is in any of the relationships referred to in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of this subdivision within six months before or after a licensee provides financing assistance shall be deemed to be in such relationship as of the date when such licensee provides such financing assistance. (8) For purposes of this subdivision, in case a licensee, in order to protect its interests, designates any person to serve as a director of, officer of, or in any capacity in the management of, a business firm to which such licensee provides financing assistance, such person shall not, on that account, be deemed to have any relationship with such business firm; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply in any case where the person has, directly or indirectly, any other financial interest in the business firm or where the person, at any time before the licensee provides the financing assistance, served as a director of, officer of, or in any other capacity in the management of, the business firm for a period of 30 days or more. (c) "Close relative" means ancestor, lineal descendant, brother or sister and lineal descendants of either, spouse, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law, daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law. (d) "Closing services" means services performed in connection with the providing of financing assistance. "Closing services" includes (but is not limited to) appraising property and preparing credit reports. "Closing services" does not include any services performed after the providing of financing assistance. (e) "Short-term financing assistance" means any financing assistance with a term of not more than five years. 31821. (a) The commissioner may, by such regulations or orders as he or she deems necessary and appropriate, either unconditionally or upon specified terms and conditions and for specified periods, exempt from the provisions of this article any person or transaction or class of persons or transactions, if the commissioner finds such action to be in the public interest and that the regulation of such persons or transactions is not necessary for the purposes of this division. (b) In exempting from the provisions of this article any person or transaction or class of persons or transactions, the commissioner shall give due consideration to any conflict of interest provision of federal law or regulation applicable to such person or transaction governing participants in federal financing programs. 31822. It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to provide financing assistance to any of its associates. 31823. (a) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to provide financing assistance to any associate of another licensee if any associate of the first licensee receives, has received, or is about to receive, directly or indirectly, financing assistance or a commitment for financing assistance from such other licensee. (b) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to provide financing assistance to any associate of another licensee if any associate of the first licensee receives, has received, or is about to receive, directly or indirectly financing assistance or a commitment for financing assistance from a third licensee pursuant to any contract, understanding, or arrangement among such licensees. 31824. It shall be unlawful for any licensee or for any associate of a licensee, directly or indirectly, to borrow money from: (a) Any person to which such licensee has provided, or has committed to provide, financing assistance; (b) Any director of, officer of, or person who owns a 10 percent or greater equity interest in, any person referred to in subdivision (a); or (c) Any close relative of any person referred to in subdivision (b). 31825. It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to provide financing assistance to discharge, or to free other funds for use in discharging, in whole or in part, an obligation to any associate of such licensee; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any transaction effected by an associate of a licensee in the normal course of such associate's business involving a line of credit or short-term financing assistance. 31826. It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to provide financing assistance for the purchase of property from any associate of such licensee. 31827. It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to provide financing assistance to any person to whom any associate of such licensee provides financing assistance, either contemporaneously with, or within one year before or after, the providing of financing assistance by the licensee, if the terms on which the licensee provides financing assistance are less favorable to the licensee than the terms on which the associate provides financing assistance to the associate. In any case where the financing assistance provided by the associate of the licensee is of a different kind from the financing assistance provided by the licensee, the burden shall be on the licensee to prove that the terms on which it provided financing assistance were at least as favorable to it as the terms on which the associate provided financing assistance to the associate. This section shall not apply to any transaction effected by an associate of a licensee in the normal course of such associate's business involving a line of credit or short-term financing assistance. 31828. It shall be unlawful for any associate of a licensee, directly or indirectly, to receive from any person to whom such licensee provides financing assistance, any compensation in connection with the providing of such financing assistance or anything of value for procuring, influencing, or attempting to procure or influence, the licensee's action with respect to the providing of the financing assistance. This section shall not apply to the receipt by an associate of a licensee of fees for bona fide closing services performed by such associate; provided, however, that the associate is, with the consent and knowledge of the person to whom the financing assistance is provided, designated by the licensee to perform such services, that the services are appropriate and necessary in the circumstances, that the fees for the services are approved as reasonable by the licensee, and that the fees for the services are collected by the licensee on behalf of the associate. 31829. It shall be unlawful for any licensee, directly or indirectly, to sell or otherwise transfer any of its assets to any of its associates.