State of California

The state should overhaul its Department of Business Oversight, but proposals to create a statewide financial protection bureau miss the mark.

Among the three measures is a requirement for boards of publicly traded firms to include more women.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration sent letters Wednesday to 20 nonbank lenders that charge triple-digit annual percentage rates to try to determine if their use of online referrals is steering borrowers into larger loans than they want or need.

If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the legislation headed to his desk, it would be the first law of its kind in the U.S. It is designed to allow small-business owners to make comparisons between offers in the often bewildering world of online business lending.

Judges say a CashCall loan may have fit the state’s definition of an “unconscionable” interest rate.

Lobbyists for the payday loan industry are getting a warmer reception in state capitals in 2018 than they did last year. One of their key arguments is that the federal crackdown on payday loans, which is now on hold, requires a response from the states.

Merchants have been challenging surcharge bans in numerous states on free-speech grounds. They have the wind at their backs following another court victory on Wednesday.

Auditors performing a review of Ocwen Financial padded time sheets and claimed excessive and improper expenses, including lengthy travel and meals at strip clubs and casinos, according to a lawsuit filed against Fidelity Information Services.