Senate Passes Resolution to Kill OCC ‘Rent-a-Bank’ Rule

Senate

The Senate on Tuesday passed a resolution that would rescind a Trump Administration rule that credit union trade groups say allows predatory online lenders to “rent” a bank to evade consumer protection laws.

The Senate passed the resolution 52-47; it now goes to the House. If the House passes it and President Biden signs it, the rule, issued by the Trump Administration’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, would be rescinded. In addition, the OCC would be prohibited from issuing a rule that would accomplish the same goal.

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Senators Introduce Legislation to Increase NCUA Loan Maturity Cap

Senate

Saying that federal law hampers lending by credit unions, two senators have introduced legislation that would increase the loan maturity cap of 15 years on credit union loans to 20 years.

Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) have pushed similar legislation in the past, but Cortez Masto said the pandemic has increased the need for credit unions to have more flexibility to offer loans to members.

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Banking Chairman Brown Pushing Federal Digital Wallet Proposal

Senate

Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) intends to introduce his “Banking for All Act” again this year. It would allow anyone to set up a free bank account at a bank, credit union or Post Office. The bank account, known as a FedAccount, would serve as a digital wallet and would solve the problem of delivering stimulus payments and tax credits to citizens who do not now have bank accounts.

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GOP Senators Push Legislation to Prevent ‘Operation Choke Point’

Senate

Republican senators this week introduced legislation that would prohibit large banks and credit unions from refusing to provide banking services to legal businesses. It is an attempt to prevent the Biden Administration from restarting Operation Choke Point, an Obama Administration project that was intended to hold financial institutions accountable for processing known fraudulent transactions. Republicans worry that approach would allow banks to avoid providing services to gun-related businesses and other controversial business ventures.

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