Subcom Chair Wants Delay on OCC Rule

Rep. Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., is putting pressure on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to delay implementation of its pre-emption rule, which protects banks that engage in subprime residential lending.Despite remarks made by Rep. Kelly on Wednesday, it appears doubtful that the OCC will postpone the Feb. 12 effective date of the rule. Rep. Kelly, who chairs a House Financial Services subcommittee, said Congress needs more time to review the OCC's powers to pre-empt state consumer protection laws. "For a regulator to single-handedly pre-empt states' ability to both determine and enforce laws without public debate or explicit direction from Congress is troublesome and careless," she said. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, and Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who chairs a key subcommittee, support the OCC's pre-emption rule. Still, state attorneys general and state banking supervisors are urging Congress to stop the OCC. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., noted that several state banks are considering switching to a national bank charter. "This trend could be the start of a stampede, and it demonstrates the magnitude of OCC's regulation," said the New York Democrat.