Tag: Legal

Lien rights are the backbone of any risk mitigation strategy in the construction credit field. There is a lot to consider when filing a mechanic’s lien, and it can be a bit of added stress for credit managers still getting their footing in the industry. However, it is a crucial step in protecting your interest and mitigating risk during construction projects. 

Credit managers working in construction know all too well the importance of securing their lien rights. They also know how different these rules can be from state to state, making it all the more important that credit managers take the time to learn the ins and outs of these statutes and how they can vary depending on where you are operating.  

Regardless of the industry you work in, or whether you’ve been in the credit field for decades or only a matter of months, it is vital that you know and understand the federal laws that regulate a credit managers’ activity. Credit managers across industries are beholden to the regulations set by the Equal Opportunity Credit Act (ECOA), which prohibits discrimination in the extension of credit. ECOA forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, creed, national origin, age or marital status in the extension of credit.  

The American Industrial Revolution, spanning the late 18th and 19th centuries, marked a shift from manual labor to industrialization, leading to the rise of big businesses and the formation of monopolies. This era also gave birth to antitrust laws aimed at preventing businesses from gaining too much power.

Senate Bill 1286 (SB 1286), signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 24, 2024, will extend existing consumer debt collection protections in the state to small businesses and to the collection activities of business debt.

A federal judge in Kentucky partially blocked the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, a decades-old Department of Transportation program that aims to grant women- and minority-owned businesses equal footing when bidding on government contracts.

Escheatment is the legal process of transferring unclaimed or abandoned property to the state such as bank accounts, uncashed checks, credit balances or other funds that have not been claimed by customers or vendors within a specified period.

The credit department aims to maximize safe sales, requiring tough decisions. Denying credit is a last resort but sometimes essential.

Since Colorado first legalized medical cannabis in 1996, more than half of the U.S. has legalized marijuana for recreational use today. But possession and distribution or sale remains illegal under federal law—meaning any money that can be traced back to state cannabis operations could expose banks to significant regulatory risk.