Press Releases

McHenry Applauds Court Ruling Upholding OCC’s “Valid-When-Made” Rule


Washington, February 9, 2022 -

Today, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement regarding the District Court for the Northern District of California’s ruling upholding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) “Valid-When-Made” rule:

“I’m glad to see the court affirm the OCC’s Valid-When-Made rule,” said Republican Leader McHenry. “By upholding these clear rules of the road for bank and non-bank partnerships, this decision will allow them to continue improving access to credit for American consumers. Republicans will continue working to bolster financial inclusion and consumer choice by harnessing the power of innovation and fintech partnerships.”

Background:

On July 19, 2017, then House Financial Services Committee Vice Chair McHenry introduced legislation to codify the Valid-When-Made doctrine. The House passed then Vice Chair McHenry’s bill on February 14, 2018.

At a May 16, 2019 hearing with federal financial regulators, Republican Leader McHenry called on the regulators to take action to preserve Valid-When-Made to bring clarity to bank-fintech partnerships and give consumers greater choice.

On September 19, 2019 Republican Leader McHenry led all Committee Republicans in sending a letter to then Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting urging OCC action to preserve the Valid-When-Made doctrine and highlighting the benefits bank-fintech partnerships can provide to consumers.

At a May 5, 2020 hearing on partnerships between bank and non-bank lenders, Republican Leader McHenry highlighted the need to preserve Valid-When-Made so these partnerships can continue providing greater financial inclusion, spurring technological innovation, and fostering competition that ultimately benefits consumers

On May 8, 2020, Republican Leader McHenry sent a letter to then Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting, among other regulators, urging him to finalize rules, including Valid-When-Made, that would help stimulate growth to combat the COVID related economic downturn.

On May 29, 2020, Republican Leader McHenry released a statement applauding then Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks for moving to finalize the OCC’s Valid-When-Made rule to help foster innovation and competition to spur growth.

On June 25, 2020, Republican Leader McHenry issued a statement backing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s own rule to preserve the Valid-When-Made doctrine.

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