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Cal. FIN § 1486

This is the official text of Cal. FIN § 1486, part of California’s Financial Code — regulates banks, credit unions, lenders, and other financial institutions.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

A commercial bank may lend on the security of a first lien on real property or a first lien on a leasehold under a lease which does not expire, or which has been extended or renewed so that it does not expire, for at least 10 years beyond the maturity date of the loan, if:

(a) The term of the loan does not exceed 10 years and the amount does not exceed 60 percent of the sound market value of the property or leasehold, together with the improvements located on the property which are made subject to the lien, as determined by proper appraisal.

(b) The term of the loan does not exceed 30 years, is repayable in substantially equal installments not less often than monthly (or a variation therefrom as may be authorized under a loan executed pursuant to Section 1916.5 or 1916.8 of the Civil Code), with payments commencing not later than 60 days from the date of the loan or, in the case of a construction loan, commencing not later than one year from the date of the loan, and the amount does not exceed 90 percent of the sound market value of the property or leasehold, together with the improvements located on the property which are made subject to the lien, as determined by proper appraisal, provided, however, the loan may exceed 90 percent of the sound market value of the property or leasehold if that portion of the loan which is in excess of 90 percent is guaranteed or insured by a private insurer licensed by the Insurance Commissioner.

(c) The loan is made pursuant to and in conformance with regulations adopted under Section 1916.12 of the Civil Code.

(d) The loan is on a farm or productive agricultural lands, the term does not exceed 30 years, is repayable in substantially equal installments not less often than annually, and the amount does not exceed 90 percent of the sound market value of the property or leasehold, together with the improvements located on the property which are made subject to the lien, as determined by proper appraisal.

(e) The term of the loan does not exceed six months and the amount does not exceed 85 percent of the sound market value of the property or leasehold, together with the improvements located on the property which are made subject to the lien, as determined by proper appraisal.

(f) The term of the loan does not exceed 60 months, the amount does not exceed 85 percent of the sound market value of the property or leasehold, together with the improvements located on the property which are made subject to the lien, as determined by proper appraisal, and the loan is for the purpose of financing building operations under a plan providing for payment of the loan or providing for refinancing by loans otherwise permitted by this chapter.

A commercial bank may make a loan without regard to the above restrictions when necessary to facilitate the sale of real property owned by the bank.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.