Fitch Ratings Addresses Preemption Statement From The OCC.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 2004 On Jan. 7, 2004, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (or OCC) was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States. (OCC OCC See: Options Clearing Corporation OCC See Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). ) issued two final regulations, amending 12 CFR CFR See: Cost and Freight parts 7 and 34, which address federal preemption of state law for OCC-regulated national banks and their operating subsidiaries. The regulations, which become effective Feb. 12, 2004, are based on amendments which are substantially similar to those proposed by the OCC this summer and which Fitch commented on in its Aug. 21, 2003 press release ('Fitch Ratings Addresses Preemption Statements From The OTS See Office of Thrift Supervision. & OCC', available on the Fitch Ratings web site at 'www.fitchratings.com'). Therefore, as of Feb. 12, 2004 Fitch will rate, without additional credit enhancement that might otherwise be assessed against other originators, residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions containing mortgage loans subject to any state or local predatory lending laws which were originated by OCC-regulated national banks and their operating subsidiaries. Fitch is aware that some jurisdictions may seek to challenge the preemption determinations of the Office of Thrift Supervision The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) was established as a bureau of the Treasury Department in August 1989 as part of a major Reorganization Plan of the thrift regulatory structure mandated by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) (12 U.S.C.A. (OTS) and OCC and will monitor those actions and, in the event of a successful action, respond accordingly. Fitch will continue to monitor anti-predatory lending issues and provide the market with timely commentary on its rating approach. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion