(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.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 505, Sec. 2. (SB 235) Effective January 1, 2016. Repealed as of January 1, 2023, pursuant to Section 22381.)