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Read. Follow. Verify.Maryland regulates commercial financing transactions and requires provider licensing starting January 1, 2027
Last action · March 24, 2026: Hearing 3/31 at 1:00 p.m.Sponsor: Ben Kramer
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What This Bill Would Do
Beginning January 1, 2027, commercial financing providers operating in Maryland must obtain a license from the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and follow strict disclosure rules regarding annual percentage rates, finance charges, and repayment terms. The law establishes comprehensive standards for closed-end, open-end, sales-based, and s, and imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Small businesses seeking commercial loans or financing will receive standardized disclosures detailing the exact cost of credit, annual percentage rates, and fee structures. Commercial financing providers must pay an $850 initial and renewal licensing fee, maintain unique identifiers through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, and adhere to state examination and enforcement rules.
- Maryland regulates non-depository financial services through the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, ensuring consumer and business protection across various lending sectors. context
- The Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) is widely used by state financial regulators to streamline licensing, renewals, and public disclosure for financial service providers. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Commercial Financing Providers
Providers must register with NMLS, obtain licenses, pay $850 annual fees, adhere to mandatory APR and cost disclosures, and comply with state examination and penalty provisions.
Small Business Borrowers
Borrowers receive standardized disclosures on commercial loans, open-end credit, and sales-based financing, enabling clearer cost comparisons across lenders.
Commissioner of Financial Regulation
The Commissioner gains expanded authority to investigate complaints, issue licenses, enforce disclosure rules, adopt regulations, and assess civil penalties.
Key Facts
- Effective January 1, 2027, individuals or entities located in Maryland engaging in commercial financing must be licensed by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation or be legally exempt.
- Exemptions from licensing include banks, credit unions, lenders regulated under the Federal Farm Credit Act, real-property-secured transactions, leases under UCC Article 2A, and providers making five or fewer commercial financing transactions in the State in a 12-month period.
- Transactions exceeding $2,500,000 are exempt from the commercial financing credit provisions.
- Providers must disclose the total amount, disbursement amount, finance charge, estimated annual percentage rate (APR), total repayment amount, estimated repayment term, and projected periodic payment amounts when extending specific offers.
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- Annual percentage rates must be calculated in accordance with the federal Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.
- Providers utilizing the opt-in method for sales-based financing must report estimated versus actual APRs to the Commissioner annually on or before January 1, beginning in 2028.
- Applicants for an initial license or renewal must pay a nonrefundable fee of $850 to the Commissioner, plus processing fees required by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS).
- The Commissioner may impose civil penalties up to $2,000 for each violation and up to $10,000 for each willful violation, along with ordering restitution or injunctions.
- A person who knowingly violates the licensing subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine up to $5,000, imprisonment up to 3 years, or both.
- The revocation, suspension, surrender, or other termination of a license does not relieve a person of the obligation to pay annual assessments imposed by the Commissioner while the license was valid.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information must lenders disclose to small business borrowers?
What are the penalties for violating commercial financing regulations?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
8 actions- Mar 24, 2026HouseHearing 3/31 at 1:00 p.m.
- Mar 21, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred Economic Matters
- Mar 20, 2026SenateFloorThird Reading Passed (42-0)
- Mar 19, 2026SenateFloorSecond Reading Passed with Amendments
- Mar 19, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 803427/1 Adopted
- Mar 19, 2026SenateCommitteeFavorable with Amendments Report by Finance
Show 2 earlier actions
- Feb 12, 2026SenateHearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m.
- Feb 6, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst Reading Finance
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Non-Depository Special Fund Coverage
The bill amends financial institution statutes to incorporate commercial financing license categories under the Non-Depository Special Fund and clarifies that license termination does not forgive prior assessment obligations.
Connected Entities
Sources
mgaleg.maryland.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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