Preemption Determination

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Treasury Office of the Comptroller of the Currency [Docket No. 01-10] AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is publishing its response to a written request for the OCC's opinion of whether Federal law would preempt a Michigan statute, as interpreted by the Michigan Financial Institutions Bureau, that limits the ability of national banks to make loans to finance motor vehicle sales. The OCC has determined that the state law, as interpreted, would be preempted under Federal law. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Nash, Counsel, or Mark Tenhundfeld, Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, (202) 874-5090. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The request for a preemption opinion was submitted by two national banks, headquartered in Ohio, that are engaged in the business of motor vehicle financing in Ohio and other states (collectively, the Requesters). As part of that business, the Requesters engage in motor vehicle sales financing through automobile dealers. In these arrangements, the Requesters enter into agreements with dealers under which the dealers act as the Requesters' agents for the purpose of soliciting loans to finance motor vehicles, taking applications for the vehicle loans, ( printed page 28594) preparing loan documentation, and obtaining the buyers' signatures. The Requesters prescribe the terms of the loan, including the inte…