As Congress' emboldened majority has sought to lessen the federal government's regulatory footprint, the states have not always been quiet, as one summertime example amply shows.

In 2017, two congressmen introduced two bills which, if enacted, would expand the scope of federal preemption to include non-bank entities. Introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the first of these two bills – the Protecting Consumers' Access to Credit Act of 2017 (HR 3299) – states that bank loans with a valid rate when made will remain valid with respect to that rate, regardless of whether a bank has subsequently sold or assigned the loan to a third party. A second bill known as the Modernizing Credit Opportunities Act of 2017 (HR 4439), championed by Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.), strives "to clarify that the role of the insured depository institution as lender and the location of an insured depository institution under applicable law are not affected by any contract between the institution and a third-party service provider." Perhaps most significantly, it would establish federal preemption of state usury laws as to any loan to which an insured depository institution is the party, regardless of any subsequent assignments. In so doing, both bills amend provisions of the Home Owners' Loan Act, Federal Credit Union Act, and/or Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Such an amendment would invalidate a long-line of judicial precedent barring a non-bank buyer's ability to purchase a national bank's right to preempt state usury law, which culminated in the Second Circuit's 2015 decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, and thereby provide non-originating creditors with a potent – and until now nonexistent – shield against liability under certain state consumer laws.

On June 27, 2018, the attorneys general of twenty states1 and the District of Columbia stated their opposition to both bills in a letter to Congressional leadership. Beginning with an historically accurate observation – "[t]he states have long held primary responsibility for protecting American consumers from abuse in the marketplace" – the A.G.s attacked these legislative efforts as likely to "allow non-bank lenders to sidestep state usury laws and charge excessive interest that would otherwise be illegal under state law." The cudgel of preemption, they warned, would "undermine" their ability to enforce their own consumer protection laws. The A.G.s went on to argue many non-bank lenders "contract with banks to use the banks' names on loan documents in an attempt to cloak themselves with the banks' right to preempt state usury limits"; indeed, "[t]he loans provided pursuant to these agreements are typically funded and immediately purchased by the non-bank lenders, which conduct all marketing, underwriting, and servicing of the loans." For their small role, the banks "receive only a small fee," with the "lion's share of profits belong[ing] to the non-bank entities." In support of this position, the A.G.s cite to a 2002 press release by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") and the more recent OCC Bulletin 2018-14 on small dollar lending, the latter announcing the OCC's "unfavorabl[e]" view of "an[y] entity that partners with a bank with the sole goal of evading a lower interest rate established under the law of the entity's licensing state(s).

The A.G.s concluded by arguing that the proposed legislation would erode an "important sphere of state regulation," state usury laws having "long served an important consumer protection function in America."

We will continue to monitor this legislation and other developments in the preemption arena, and will report on any further developments.

Footnote

1 The signatories come from California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

The Troutman Sanders' Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor blog offers timely updates regarding the financial services industry to inform you of recent changes in the law, upcoming regulatory deadlines and significant judicial opinions that may impact your business. To view the blog, click here

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