“Today’s action by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency brings much-needed and long-overdue clarity to the financial system. While the pandemic has accelerated the process, consumer trends have been moving away from storefront banking and to online providers for quite a while. The rule that OCC announced today modernizes the rules governing the financial system to account for those trends.
“In so doing, the OCC is bringing stability and regulatory certainty to banks as they seek to offer safe and reliable credit to underserved consumers. Expanding credit access to these populations has been a priority for regulators and government agencies, and uncertainties over ‘true lender’ have inhibited banks’ ability to meet these goals. By announcing and implementing this rule, the OCC is resolving the “True Lender” debate once and for all, which will benefit consumers as banks, through their nonbank partners, are able to offer more product choices with increased competition in the marketplace.
We applaud this rule and look forward to continuing our work to expand credit access on behalf of underserved consumers nationwide.”
