ICBA urges House to oppose ‘true lender’ repeal

ICBA and other groups today are urging House members to oppose a Senate-passed resolution to repeal the OCC’s “true lender” rule.

Joint Letter: In a joint letter to the House ahead of a staff briefing on the issue, the groups said repealing the OCC rule would create significant legal impediments to creating a more robust framework for providing safe and affordable credit. Instead, the OCC should be allowed to modify the rule, they said.

Rule: The OCC rule, which ICBA supported in a comment letter last year, creates a standard to determine when a bank is the “true lender” when partnering with a third party. Under the rule, banks are deemed true lenders if they fund the loan or are named as the lender in the loan agreement on the origination date.

Congress: The Senate resolution, which the Senate passed by a 52-47 vote earlier this month, would repeal the rule under the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to invalidate federal rules and limits agencies’ ability to issue a similar rule in the future.