Oregon Bill Subjects Banks, Credit Unions, Licensees to Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act

On March 23, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed HB 3706, a bill that subjects banks and credit unions, as well as entities licensed under the Oregon Mortgage Lender Law (including mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, and loan originators) and the Oregon Consumer Finance Act (including consumer finance lenders), to the unlawful trade practices provisions of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act (UTPA). Such entities were previously exempted from the UTPA. The bill limits the Oregon Attorney General’s ability to take action against state regulated lenders under several of the UTPA provisions without prior request from the Director of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, and also limits the Attorney General’s ability to adopt rules with respect to certain UTPA provisions.