5 State Offices Regulate Various Escrow Agents
California escrow providers are regulated by five state agencies--the departments of Corporations, Insurance, Real Estate, Savings and Loans and Banking.
The agency regulating escrow companies in California varies with the escrow firm’s organizational structure and the type of escrow the company is permitted to handle.
The state’s 1,212 independent escrow companies are regulated by the Department of Corporations, with the Federal Trade Commission also handling consumer complaints.
Escrow departments of real estate brokers are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Real Estate.
Savings and loan associations holding transactions in escrow are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Savings and Loan, Office of Thrift Supervision.
A California licensed bank acting as an escrow agent is regulated by the Department of Banking, while consumer complaints regarding escrows handled by a federally licensed bank can be directed to the Comptroller of the Currency.
Escrow transactions handled by title companies are regulated by the Department of Insurance.
The agencies:
* California Department of Corporations, Financial Services, 3700 Wilshire Blvd., Second Floor, Los Angeles, Calif. 90010. (800) 347-6995.
* Federal Trade Commission, Department of Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 7165, San Francisco, Calif. 94120. (415) 744-7920.
* California Department of Banking, 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 301, Los Angeles, Calif. 90010. (213) 736-2471.
* Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks, Western District, 50 Fremont St., Suite 3900, San Francisco, Calif. 94105. (415) 545-5900. Lynn Miyake, Consumer Complaint Specialist.
* California Department of Real Estate, 107 S. Broadway, Room 8107, Los Angeles, Calif. 90012, (213) 620-5903; 28 Civic Center Plaza, Room 324, Santa Ana 92701, 714/558-4491; 1350 Front St., Room 3064, San Diego 92101, (619) 237-7345.
* California Department of Savings and Loan, Office of Thrift Supervision, P.O. Box 76832, Los Angeles, Calif. 90076. (213) 736-2798.
* California Department of Insurance, Consumer Services Bureau, 600 S. Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90005. (213) 736-3582.
The following trade associations are all based in Southern California: the 4,000-member California Escrow Assn. (213) 461-7383; the 335-member Escrow Institute of California (714) 744-9384, and the American Escrow Assn. (714) 744-9384). The latter group was organized in 1980 and has about 6,000 members in 11 states, including California.
