Preemption of State Banking Regulation
In 2003, the OCC proposed regulations to preempt virtually all state banking and financial services laws for national banks and their diverse range of non-bank, corporate operating subsidiaries. Despite opposition from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the OCC's regulations went into effect. In Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. (2007), the United States Supreme Court validated the preemption of state regulations by the OCC, ruling that the OCC, not the states, has the authority to subject national banks to "general supervision" and "oversight":
...State regulators cannot interfere with the business of banking by subjecting national banks or their OCC-licensed operating subsidiaries to multiple audits and surveillance under rival oversight regimes.
In Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, L. L. C. (2009), the Court clarified its decision in Watters, stating that federal banking regulations did not pre-empt the ability of states to enforce their own fair-lending laws, as "'general supervision and control' and 'oversight' are worlds apart from law enforcement," and therefore states retain law enforcement powers but have restricted "visitory" powers over national banks.
Read more about this topic: Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency
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