2023 California Code › Corporations Code - CORP › TITLE 1 - CORPORATIONS › DIVISION 1 - GENERAL CORPORATION LAW › CHAPTER 3 - Directors and Management › Section 315.

315. (a) A corporation shall not make any loan of money or property to, or guarantee the obligation of, any director or officer of the corporation or of its parent, unless the transaction, or an employee benefit plan authorizing the loans or guaranties after disclosure of the right under such a plan to include officers or directors, is approved by a majority of the shareholders entitled to act thereon.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if the corporation has outstanding shares held of record by 100 or more persons (determined as provided in Section 605) on the date of approval by the board, and has a bylaw approved by the outstanding shares (Section 152) authorizing the board alone to approve such a loan or guaranty to an officer, whether or not a director, or an employee benefit plan authorizing such a loan or guaranty to an officer, such a loan or guaranty or employee benefit plan may be approved by the board alone by a vote sufficient without counting the vote of any interested director or directors if the board determines that such a loan or guaranty or plan may reasonably be expected to benefit the corporation.
(c) A corporation shall not make any loan of money or property to, or guarantee the obligation of, any person upon the security of shares of the corporation or of its parent if the corporation’s recourse in the event of default is limited to the security for the loan or guaranty, unless the loan or guaranty is adequately secured without considering these shares, or the loan or guaranty is approved by a majority of the shareholders entitled to act thereon.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a corporation may advance money to a director or officer of the corporation or of its parent for any expenses reasonably anticipated to be incurred in the performance of the duties of the director or officer, provided that in the absence of the advance the director or officer would be entitled to be reimbursed for the expenses by the corporation, its parent, or any subsidiary.
(e) The provisions of subdivision (a) do not apply to the payment of premiums in whole or in part by a corporation on a life insurance policy on the life of a director or officer so long as repayment to the corporation of the amount paid by it is secured by the proceeds of the policy and its cash surrender value.
(f) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any transaction, plan, or agreement permitted under Section 408.
(2) Any depository institution, as defined in Section 202 of the Depository Institutions Management Interlocks Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 3201).
(3) Any loan or guaranty made by a corporation that makes loans or guaranties in the ordinary course of its business if statutes or regulations pertaining to the corporation expressly regulate the making by the corporation of loans to its officers or directors or the undertaking of guaranties of the obligations of its officers or directors.
(g) For the purposes of subdivisions (a) and (c), “approval by a majority of the shareholders entitled to act” means either (1) written consent of a majority of the outstanding shares without counting as outstanding or as consenting any shares owned by any officer or director eligible to participate in the plan or transaction that is subject to this approval, (2) the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present and voting at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is otherwise present, without counting for purposes of the vote as either present or voting any shares owned by any officer or director eligible to participate in the plan or transaction that is subject to the approval, or (3) the unanimous vote or written consent of the shareholders. In the case of a corporation which has more than one class or series of shares outstanding, the “shareholders entitled to act” within the meaning of this section includes only holders of those classes or series entitled under the articles to vote on all matters before the shareholders or to vote on the subject matter of this section, and includes a requirement for separate class or series voting, or for more or less than one vote per share, only to the extent required by the articles.
(Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 812, Sec. 1.)