(a) A national bank may make, arrange, purchase, or sell loans or extensions of credit, or interests therein, that are secured by liens on, or interests in, real estate (real estate loans), subject to 12 U.S.C. 1828(o) and such restrictions and requirements as the Comptroller of the Currency may prescribe by regulation or order.
(b) A national bank shall not make a consumer loan subject to this subpart based predominantly on the bank's realization of the foreclosure or liquidation value of the borrower's collateral, without regard to the borrower's ability to repay the loan according to its terms. A bank may use any reasonable method to determine a borrower's ability to repay, including, for example, the borrower's current and expected income, current and expected cash flows, net worth, other relevant financial resources, current financial obligations, employment status, credit history, or other relevant factors.
(c) A national bank shall not engage in unfair or deceptive practices within the meaning of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 45(a)(1), and regulations promulgated thereunder in connection with loans made under this part.
(d) National banks may establish or maintain escrow accounts. The terms and conditions of any such escrow account, including the investment of escrowed funds, fees assessed for the provision of such accounts, or whether and to what extent interest or other compensation is calculated and paid to customers whose funds are placed in the escrow account, are business decisions to be made by each national bank in its discretion.
[68 FR 70131, Dec. 17, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 1917, Jan. 13, 2004; 91 FR 29347, May 19, 2026]
Notes of Decisions
Ellsworth v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 908 F. Supp. 2d 1063 (N.D. Cal. 2012).
“Bank challenges Ellsworth’s kickback claims as preempted under the NBA’s real estate lending powers — the power to “make, arrange, purchase, or sell ... real estate loans, subject to .”
Watkins v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., 631 F. Supp. 2d 776 (S.D.W. Va 2008).
“12 C.F.R. § 34.3 (b) permits national banks to “use any reasonable method to determine a borrower’s ability to repay,” but Plaintiffs complaint that Defendant disregards borrowers’ repayment ability does not ask this Court to declare unreasonable a particular type of method…”
Commonwealth v. H&R Block, Inc., 25 Mass. L. Rptr. 92 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2008).
“” 12 C.F.R. §34.3 . When one considers the warning against predatory lending in the advisory letters issued by the Commissioner of Banks and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency with the statutory proscriptions against predatory lending in the Massachusetts Predatory…”
McCandlish (W.D. Wash. 2025).
· cites it 2× “) Citing 12 C.F.R. § 34.3 (a) and RESPA, Plaintiff argues 23 the mortgage on her property is not legally authorized because she resides in a “private 24 1 residence” “solely used as a personal dwelling,” and the property “was not commercial, income- 2 producing, or subject to…”
William Kivett v. Flagstar Bank, Fsb (9th Cir. 2025).
“§ 371 (a); see also 12 C.F.R. § 34.3 (a). Incidental to that authority, national banks can provide and service escrow accounts to 1 Dodd-Frank also permits preemption when a state law would have a discriminatory effect on national banks, or the state law is preempted by a…”
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