Every person who gives, offers, or agrees to give to any director, officer, or employee of a financial institution any emolument, gratuity, or reward, or any money, property, or thing of value for his own personal benefit or of personal advantage, for procuring or endeavoring to procure for any person a loan or extension of credit from such financial institution is guilty of a felony.

As used in this section and Section 639a, “financial institution” means any person or persons engaged in the business of making loans or extending credit or procuring the making of loans or extension of credit, including, but not limited to, state and federal banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, industrial loan companies, personal property brokers, consumer finance lenders, commercial finance lenders, credit unions, escrow companies, title insurance companies, insurance companies, small business investment companies, pawnbrokers, and retirement funds.

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Terms Used In California Penal Code 639

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See California Penal Code 7
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Penal Code 7

As used in this section and Section 639a the word “person” includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, company, syndicate, estate, trust, business trust, or organization of any kind.

(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1010, Sec. 196. Effective January 1, 1995.)