NY AG Threatens to Sue OCC

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has threatened to sue the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency if the agency finalizes a rule that would exempt national banks and their mortgage subsidiaries from compliance with state consumer protection laws.OCC-proposed rules would "disband a regulatory system that has worked well for over 130 years," Mr. Spitzer said at a news conference. "If the OCC continues its misguided and wrongheaded mission to reduce the states' ability to enforce consumer protection laws, I will not hesitate to sue." New York Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel, Gregory Meeks, and Carolyn Maloney also called on Comptroller John Hawke Jr. to withdraw the proposed rule. "The OCC has limited experience protecting consumers who are victims of predatory lending," Rep. Rangel said. "There is no reason for the OCC to promulgate regulations to now prohibit state attorneys general from the enforcement and protection they have provided to consumers for over 130 years."