I'd like to add that this is a good practice in the financial industry, and isn't a bad thing at all. It's consumer protection.
And, $500k is actually a pretty low figure for this type of 'bond'.
For example, in Australia I believe you would need a banking license (or a guarantor with a banking license) which requires a deposit of at least $40M in to an escrow account which is managed by the central bank.
I'd like to add that this is a good practice in the financial industry, and isn't a bad thing at all. It's consumer protection.
And, $500k is actually a pretty low figure for this type of 'bond'.
For example, in Australia I believe you would need a banking license (or a guarantor with a banking license) which requires a deposit of at least $40M in to an escrow account which is managed by the central bank.