NEWS
1120 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, 202-663-5163
CONTACT:
Catherine Pulley (202) 663-5468 October 3, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (2009)
STATEMENT FROM ABIA ON OCC FEDERAL PREMPTION DECISION RELATED TO BANK INSURANCE SALES By Beth L. Climo, Executive Director, American Bankers Insurance Association “The American Bankers Insurance Association (ABIA) applauds the decision by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) preempting several provisions of a West Virginia law related to bank-insurance sales. The OCC’s determination follows a request by the West Virginia Bankers Association in which ABIA commented in support.” “The OCC’s action is a positive development for banks and consumers of insurance. It ensures that banks can offer insurance products to consumers without improper interference or discrimination by a state. It also provides a useful roadmap for state regulation of bank insurance activities.” “The OCC established a legal framework based on the preemption provisions in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the United States Supreme Court’s Barnett Bank case. In doing so, it accepted the framework recently adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in its Model Unfair Trade Practices Act. ABIA worked closely with the NAIC in revising that Model Act. We are also pleased that the OCC relied in part of its analysis on the ruling in the ABI v. Duryee case, a case initiated by ABIA.” “ABIA will be assessing the application to other state’s laws of the analytical framework established by the OCC in this case.” BACKGROUND The OCC’s analysis relied principally on a provision in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that prohibits states from “preventing or significantly interfering” with the ability of a bank to sell insurance. The OCC determined that several provisions of the West Virginia law were preempted, including those pertaining to the sale of insurance by loan officers and referrals of bank customers. ### EDITOR’S NOTE: COPIES OF OCC DECISION ARE AVAILABLE BY CONTACTING MARICA RHODES AT (202) 663-5442