On July 22, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency
("OCC") proposed a new rule in the federal
register, concerning when a bank or savings association is a
"true lender," when the loan is sold or assigned to
different entities. The comment period for the OCC's proposed
rule ended on September 3, 2020, with mixed results.
In its proposed rule, the OCC interpreted the National Bank Act,
Federal Reserve Act, Home Owners' Loan Act and propounded a
test to determine when a bank makes a loan and may be considered
the true lender in a loan transaction. The OCC stated that "a
bank makes a loan when, as of the date of origination, it (1) is
named as lender in the loan agreement or (2) funds the loan."
The OCC further considers a true lender to "[have] a
predominant economic interest in the loan," as the original
funder, even if it is not "the named lender in the loan
agreement as of the date of origination." The OCC reasons that
such an interpretation would provide
