Payday lenders are supporting a bill sponsored by Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) and Joe Baca (D-Calif.) that would give the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) authority to designate lenders as National Consumer Credit Corporations and require the regulator to treat storefront and online lenders equally, the Wilmington News Journal reported today. The legislation would then allow the OCC to preempt state rules based on a legal standard previously introduced by the Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul. The lending bill, introduced July 18, also would loosen the rules for how short-term lenders disclose the total cost of the loans to consumers.
