OCC Archives

Proposal Would Allow Banks to Charge Homeowners Hidden Fees and Override State Laws

January 30, 2026

Bank Regulator Should Abandon Plan to Let Banks Keep Interest on Homeowners’ Escrow Accounts

Statement of NCLC Managing Attorney Lauren Saunders On OCC Final Preemption Rule

July 20, 2011

We are disappointed that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in its final rule implementing the preemption amendments of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, continues to thumb its nose at state efforts to protect consumers. The agency gives national banks immunity from state laws protecting consumers…

Bank Regulators’ Proposal on Third-Party Relationships Silent on Predatory Rent-a-bank Lending, Posing Risks for Banks and Consumers

October 19, 2021

October 19, 2021 WASHINGTON – Today, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), on behalf of its low-income clients, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), and the National Fair Housing Alliance released their comment letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Federal Reserve Board (FRB) on…

National Consumer Law Center Advocates Praise U.S. House Vote to Repeal National Banking Regulator’s Predatory Lending Rule

June 24, 2021

OCC Rule Protects High-Cost Lenders that use Rent-a-Bank Schemes to Evade State Interest Rate Laws Washington, D.C. – Advocates at the National Consumer Law Center applaud the U.S. House vote to overturn the OCC’s “fake lender” rule, which allows predatory lenders to evade state interest rate laws by putting a federally-chartered bank’s name on the paperwork. The…

Advocates Applaud Senate Repeal of National Banking Regulator’s Predatory Lending Rule; Urge the House to Act Soon

May 11, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2021 Washington, D.C. – In a 52 – 47 vote tonight, the U.S. Senate voted to overturn the OCC’s “fake lender” rule, which allows predatory lenders to evade state interest rate laws by putting a bank’s name on the paperwork. S.J. Res. 15, a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA),…

New Bank Regulator Leadership Welcome; Congress Still Must Roll Back Rule Promoting Predatory Lending

May 5, 2021

For Immediate Release: May 5, 2021 Washington, DC – Advocates welcomed reports that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to appoint a new acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), replacing Blake Paulson, in light of the highly deceptive and false claims that the agency, under Paulson’s leadership, put forward as…

Bipartisan Group of 25 State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Repeal OCC “True Lender” Rule

April 21, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 21, 2021 Letter Reflects Bipartisan Support for State Interest Rate Caps and the Need to Stop “Rent-a-Bank” Evasions by Predatory Lenders In a rare form of bipartisan agreement, a group of 25 Attorneys General (AGs) sent a letter today to Congressional leadership urging it to “use the Congressional Review Act (CRA)…

Nearly 140 Scholars Call for Congressional Repeal of “True Lender” Rule

April 20, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2021 OCC Rule Usurps Role States Have Had Since Founding of the Nation in Protecting Families from Usurious Lending A group of 138 scholars, including professors of banking law and consumer finance regulation, from 43 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter today to Congress urging it to…

Congress Introduces Resolution to Rescind OCC’s “Fake Lender” Rule, Which Protects Predatory Lenders’ Evasions of State Interest Rate Limits

March 25, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 25, 2021 325+ groups representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia called for Congress to support a resolution to overturn a rule that helps triple-digit interest rate loans evade state and voter-approved interest rate caps and spread across the country WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advocates at the National Consumer Law…

Days Before Crucial Deadline, the National Consumer Law Center Joins Over 325 Groups Calling for Congress to Rescind “Fake Lender” Rule that Facilitates Predatory Loan Schemes

March 22, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 22, 2021 Only a majority vote in Congress would be needed to overturn rule that helps triple-digit interest rate loans evade state and voter-approved interest rate caps and spread across the country Link to coalition letter: http://bit.ly/CRA-fake-lender WASHINGTON, D.C. – With just a few days left before a crucial deadline, a…

Civil Rights and Consumer Groups File Amicus Brief in Support of States’ Challenge to OCC Rule that Enables Predatory Lending

December 22, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 2020 Advocates argue that the OCC letter issued late Friday will not save the OCC rule that facilitates usurious loans with interest rates that are higher than what state laws allow WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several civil rights and consumer groups filed an amicus brief in support of the attorneys general…

New OCC Rule Protecting Predatory Lenders Could Face Legal Challenge

October 27, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 27, 2020 Rule that evades state interest rate laws will severely impact low-income and communities of color WASHINGTON, D.C. – The regulator of the nation’s largest banks has finalized a rule that allows predatory lenders to do an end-run around state interest rate caps, exposing people to loans in excess of…

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