OCC

With days ticking down for lawmakers to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule, some are now questioning the statistics used to challenge the bureau’s data.

The Treasury Department released an 18-page report saying the rule would “impose extraordinary costs” including legal fees mostly for lawyers that bring class-action lawsuits.

Regulators usually avoid the public fights that define other realms of the polarized Washington landscape, but the recent tiff over the arbitration rule is an exception.

Under a joint order, lenders still have to document the value of properties in storm-affected regions, but they will not have to depend on appraisers.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency used "flawed statistics" and misstated the effects of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration rule on community banks, Director Richard Cordray said Friday.

In an op-ed, acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika argued that allowing consumers to sue financial institutions in class actions would raise credit costs and harm small banks.

The proposal is aimed at a simpler capital regime particularly for community banks, but some industry representatives and regulators themselves questioned whether the plan went far enough.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika on Monday gave a ringing endorsement to online lenders seeking to expand into banking, suggesting they should consider taking deposits and seek out national bank charters as they mature.

The Fed's order noted that Sterling had clarified errors in its Community Reinvestment Act data before receiving a "satisfactory" rating from the OCC.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a proposal Wednesday that would raise the appraisal threshold for CRE loans to $400,000 from $250,000.