Real Estate Transactions of Banks
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Image source: www.co.berks.pa.us
The most trend followed today is that National banks are already operating and trying to find a spot in the insurance and securities industries and they are continuing their push to enter into real estate transactions.”? In a 5-3 decision today the Supreme Court ruled that mortgage lending subsidiaries of federally chartered banks are subject to federal oversight but it is not considered as a state regulation. Michigan regulators had sought to block the operations of Wachovia Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of Wachovia Bank, after the subsidiary surrendered its registration in Michigan. State law required bank subsidiaries to register with a state regulatory agency and submit to state supervision. The Court’s ruling gives a tremendous competitive advantage to federally chartered banks over financial and non-financial competitors as it increases the value of the federal charter at the expense of state licensing, marketplace competition and potentially even consumer protection measures.