Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 25, 2000 / Notices 63917

1 In the Matter of: Request by Rodney D. Martin

on Behalf of National City Bank for a Declaratory

Ruling on the Applicability of the Motor Vehicle

Sales Finance Act to Certain Transactions (January

1, 2000).

2Section 2 of the MVSFA defines an ‘‘installment

sale contract’’ as one ‘‘for the retail sale of a motor

vehicle, or which has a similar purpose or effect,

under which part or all of the price is payable in

2 or more scheduled payments subsequent to the

making of the contract * * *’’ MCL 492.102(9);

MSA 23.628(2)(9).

3MCL 492.103(a) and (b); MSA 23.628(3)(a) and

(b).

4These include, for example, provisions

concerning the form and contents of an installment

sales contract, disclosures that must be made to the

buyer, the amount and computation of fees and

finance charges, and prohibited charges. See MCL

492.112–492.134.

5The requesters contend that the proposed

financing transactions would not result installment

sale contracts under the meaning of the MVSFA

because the banks and their customers would be

contracting for loans and not ‘‘for the retail sale of

* * * motor vehicle[s].’’ The FIB, as indicated in

its Declaratory Ruling, disagrees with this

interpretation and considers the transactions

installment sale contracts subject to the

requirements of the MVSFA. 6 12 U.S.C. 43.

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency

[Docket No. 00–22]

Notice of Request for Preemption

Determination

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller

of the Currency (OCC) is publishing for

comment two written requests for the

OCC’s opinion about whether Federal

law would preempt certain provisions

of the Michigan Motor Vehicles Sales

Finance Act (MVSFA) as interpreted by

the Michigan Financial Institutions

Bureau (FIB), that limit the ability of

banks to make loans to finance motor

vehicle sales. The purpose of this notice

and request for comment is to provide

interested persons with an opportunity

to submit comments on this matter prior

to the OCC’s issuance of an opinion.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before November 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

the Communications Division, Office of

the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E

Street, SW., Third Floor, Attention:

Docket No. 00–22, Washington, DC

20219. You may submit comments

electronically to

regs.comments@occ.treas.gov or by

facsimile transmission to (202) 874–

5274. You can inspect and photocopy

the comments at the OCC’s Public

Reference Room, 250 E Street, SW.,

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5

p.m. on business days. You can make an

appointment to inspect the comments

by calling (202) 874–5043.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michele Meyer, Senior Attorney, or

Mark Tenhundfeld, Assistant Director,

Legislative and Regulatory Activities

Division, (202) 874–5090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The requesters are national banks

headquartered in Ohio that would like

to conduct motor vehicles sales

financing through automobile dealers in

Michigan. The banks would enter into

agreements with the dealers under

which the dealers would act as the

banks’ agents for the purpose of

soliciting loans to finance motor

vehicles, taking applications for the

vehicle loans, preparing the loan

documentation, and obtaining the

buyers’ signatures on all required

documents. The banks would prescribe

the terms of the loan, including the

minimum interest rate, and fund the

loans.

This method of conducting business

is inconsistent with a Declaratory

Ruling issued by the FIB on January, 1,

2000, concerning this proposed

practice.1 The FIB concluded that,

under the MVSFA, the proposed

arrangement between the banks and

Michigan motor vehicle dealers would

result in ‘‘installment sale contracts’’

subject to the MVSFA.2 In order for a

motor vehicle installment sale contract

to comply with the MVSFA: (1) The

dealer must originate the loan as a

licensed installment seller of motor

vehicles; and (2) the bank may only

purchase the loan, as a licensed sales

finance company.3 The transaction must

also comply with the several other

requirements of the MVSFA that apply

to installment sale contracts.4 Thus, a

national bank cannot originate motor

vehicle loans through a dealer agent.

The requesters have asked our

opinion whether the National Bank Act

preempts the provisions of the MVSFA

described in this notice, as those

provisions have been interpreted by the

FIB, with respect to national banks. The

requesters assert that the FIB’s

construction of the proposed financing

transactions as installment sale

contracts under the MVSFA impairs a

national bank’s authority under the

National Bank Act to make loans and

determine the interest rates on those

loans.5 The requesters contend that the

FIB’s construction of the proposed

financing transactions as installment

sale contracts subject to the MVSFA is

an impermissible state restriction of a

national bank’s exercise of its authority

under 12 U.S.C. 24(Seventh) to originate

loans directly to the bank’s customers

through third-party agents without

having to obtain state licenses. The

requesters further assert that the FIB’s

interpretation, which required the

dealer, rather than the bank, to originate

the loans unlawfully restricts a national

bank’s authority under 12 U.S.C. 85 to

charge interest on loans at the rate

allowed by the bank’s home state.

Request for Comment

Section 114 of the Riegle-Neal

Interstate Banking and Branching

Efficiency Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103–328,

108 Stat. 2338) generally requires the

OCC to publish in the Federal Register

a descriptive notice of certain requests

that the OCC receives for preemption

opinions.6 Under section 114, the OCC

must publish notice before it issues any

opinion letter or interpretive rule

opining that Federal law preempts the

application to a national bank of any

State law in four designated areas:

community reinvestment, consumer

protection, fair lending, or the

establishment of intrastate branches.

Pursuant to section 114, interested

persons have at least 30 days to submit

written comments. Without making a

determination as to whether section 114

applies to this request, the OCC has

decided that it is appropriate to use

notice and comment procedures.

The OCC requests comments on the

issues described above. The OCC will

publish in the Federal Register any final

opinion letter we issue in response to

the requests.

Dated: October 16, 2000.

John D. Hawke, Jr.

Comptroller of the Currency.

[FR Doc. 00–27348 Filed 10–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–33–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Privacy Act of 1974; System of

Records

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service,

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed new system

of records.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974,

as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Internal

Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury, gives

notice of a newly proposed Servicewide

system of records entitled ‘‘Third Party