Developments of Note
Supreme Court Lets National Bank ATM Preemption Ruling Stand
The United States Supreme Court allowed to stand a ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upholding the legality of a national bank without offices in a state placing automated teller machines ("ATMs") in the state notwithstanding state law to the contrary. More specifically, citing, among other things, 1996 changes in federal law which excluded ATMs from the definition of "branch," the Eighth Circuit ruled that the National Bank Act (the "NBA") preempted an Iowa state statute that permits the establishment of satellite ATMs only if the relevant bank has an office in the state. Moreover, the Eighth Circuit also held that the NBA also preempts a state law seeking to preclude a national bank from advertising its name on the ATMs. In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit expressly determined that the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act’s grant of certain authority to states does not
