Frank Urges Giving OCC, FDIC Loan Rule Powers: Criticizes the Fed's Approach, Weighs a Role for the States

Kaper, Stacy, American Banker

A month after House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank told the Federal Reserve Board to use or lose its power to ban unfair and deceptive banking practices, the Massachusetts Democrat said he wants to hand that power to two other agencies.

At a hearing Wednesday, Rep. Frank said the Federal Trade Commission Act should be amended to give not just the Fed but also the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. the power to police lending practices.

The Office of Thrift Supervision has similar authority, he said, but for reasons for which "no rational explanation is even conceivable, much less likely," lawmakers have denied the OCC and the FDIC the same right.

"My strong view now is that something should be done legislatively to correct that," Rep. Frank said.

Testifying on behalf of the American Bankers Association, Arthur Johnson, the chairman and chief executive of United Bank of Michigan in Grand …

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Publication information: Article title: Frank Urges Giving OCC, FDIC Loan Rule Powers: Criticizes the Fed's Approach, Weighs a Role for the States. Contributors: Kaper, Stacy - Author. Magazine title: American Banker. Volume: 172. Issue: 143 Publication date: July 26, 2007. Page number: 1. © 2009 SourceMedia, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale Group.

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