OCC issues guidance regarding purchased loans

Bank Regulatory Federal Issues Agency Rule-Making & Guidance OCC Loans Bank Lending

On August 8, the OCC issued new guidance regarding the applicability of the legal lending limit (LLL) to purchased loans. The guidance clarifies that “all loans and extensions of credit made by banks are subject to the LLL” and explains that “[w]hether a loan that a bank purchases is attributable to the seller under the LLL regulation depends on specific facts and circumstances.”  The OCC then further explains, that in evaluating purchased loans, loans will be attributed to a seller if the bank has direct or indirect recourse to the seller, which can be explicit or implied.  Explicit recourse is established through a written agreement and implied recourse can be established though the bank’s course of dealing with the seller. For example, the OCC noted that if a seller routinely “substituted or repurchased loans or refilled or replenished a reserve account even when the contract did not require those actions” that would be sufficient to establish implied recourse.