OCC FINAL RULES APPEAR IN FEDERAL REGISTER; HEARINGS SCHEDULED

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) final rules on national bank preemption and visitorial powers were published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2004, giving the rules an effective date of February 12, 2004. 69 Fed. Reg. 1895 (visitorial powers). 69 Fed. Reg. 1904 (preemption).

Congresswoman Sue Kelly, 19th District of New York, who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, has said that she intends to hold hearings on the OCC’s new rules beginning January 26, 2004. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (Alabama) has stated that he will hold a “state of the industry” oversight hearing February 5, with testimony from officials of the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the OCC and the National Credit Union Administration. The hearing will focus on a variety of issues including federal preemption of state banking laws.

The final rule has generated strong opposition:

• Statement by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer:
  www.ag.ny.gov

• Statement by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal:
  www.ctstatelibrary.org

• Statement by the Conference of State Bank Supervision:
  www.csbs.org

• Statement by the National Conference of State Legislatures:
  www.ncsl.org

• Statement by the American Land Title Association:
  www.alta.org/govt/issues/03/c_68fr46119.pdf

OCC documents explaining the rules on national bank preemption and the OCC’s visitorial powers include:

• Statement from the Comptroller:
  www.occ.treas.gov

• Press Release 2004-3:
  www.occ.treas.gov

• Final Rule: Preemption:
  www.occ.treas.gov

• Final Rule: Visitorial Powers:
  www.occ.treas.gov

• Questions and Answers on the Preemption Rulemaking:
  www.occ.treas.gov

• Questions and Answers on the Visitorial Powers Rule:
  www.occ.treas.gov

• A chart comparing OCC’s preemption rule with those of the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration:
  http://www.occ.gov/static/Publications/qj/qj23-1/QJ23-1.pdf

Mike Tomkies and Elizabeth Anstaett