A coalition of 10 states is challenging new federal rules they say unlawfully strip them of the authority to require national banks to pay a certain amount of interest on homeowners’ mortgage escrow accounts.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Portland, Oregon, challenges a pair of rules issued in May by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a bureau of the Treasury Department that regulates national banks and federal savings associations.
The dispute centers on mortgage escrow accounts, which allow lenders to collect money from borrowers, typically as part of their monthly mortgage payments, to cover expenses such as property taxes and homeowners insurance when those bills come due….