The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Lusnak v. Bank of America, N.A.—holding that the National Bank Act did not preempt a California law requiring banks to pay interest on certain funds held in escrow accounts for mortgage borrowers—has received considerable attention in the consumer finance industry. Bank of America’s bid for rehearing en banc was significantly strengthened on Monday, when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) took the unusual step of filing an amicus curiae brief in support of the petition for rehearing.
Mayer Brown’s Legal Update summarizes how, according to the OCC, the court got the preemption issue in Lusnak wrong.