"Financial institution" means a state or national bank, state or federal savings and loan association or credit union, or like organization, and includes a corporation engaged in a safe deposit business.
§ 680.200.Financial Institution
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 1. Short Title and Definitions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 680.200 defines financial institution to mean a state or national bank, a state or federal savings and loan or credit union, or a similar organization, and also includes any corporation engaged in the safe deposit business, fixing which entities are subject to the Enforcement of Judgments Law's special bank-levy procedures.
Full Text of § 680.200
Plain-English Summary
Levying on a bank account looks different from levying on a car or a piece of furniture, and this section identifies exactly which entities count as the "financial institution" that special levy and service procedures are built around: banks, savings and loans, credit unions, and similar organizations, plus any corporation in the safe deposit business.
Including safe deposit box operators alongside traditional depository institutions matters because a debtor's valuables can sit in a rented box rather than an account, and the Enforcement of Judgments Law needs a single category broad enough to reach both without treating them as entirely different kinds of targets.
This definition feeds directly into procedures elsewhere in the EJL, including the central-location service rule for financial institutions and the deposit account definition itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of entities count as a "financial institution" under the Enforcement of Judgments Law?
State or national banks, state or federal savings and loan associations or credit unions, similar organizations, and any corporation engaged in the safe deposit business.
Why does the definition specifically mention safe deposit box operators?
Because a debtor's property can be stored in a rented safe deposit box rather than held in an account, and the definition needs to cover both so the same enforcement procedures reach either kind of holding.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: financial institution definition california judgment enforcementbank levy safe deposit box california