Judge Rules that NY can regulate lenders with Tribal ties
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_190/n-y-can-regulate-lenders-with-tribal-ties-judge-rules-1062523-1.html
A federal court has ruled that state regulators have the authority over online lenders that operate from Native American land.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled Monday that the state can block payday lenders from making loans to state residents even when loans are originated from offices on tribal land. Judge Richard Sullivan denied a request for preliminary injunction filed by the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, arguing that the loans fall under the state's authority because they affect the state's residents.
"The undisputed facts demonstrate that the activity the State seeks to regulate is taking place in New York, off of the Tribes' lands," Sullivan wrote in the opinion.
In August, Benjamin Lawsky, the superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, sent cease and desist letters to 35 companies that offer online loans in New York, threatening them with legal action if they continued making loans to New Yorkers. Lawsky's office claimed that the companies' loans violated New York's 16% usury cap.
At the same time, the DFS asked for the assistance of the National Automated Clearing House Association, as well as 117 banks and payday loan programs, in cutting off the payday lenders' access to the ACH network. Following the crackdown, several payday lenders with tribal ties shut down, citing their inability to access the payments network.
The case was filed in August by a group of federally recognized Indian tribes in Oklahoma and Michigan, who sought to permanently prevent New York from interfering with their online-lending business, arguing that the DFS' action is a violation of their territorial sovereignty as granted in the Constitution.
The tribes also said that the regulator's actions would cripple their ability to provide their members with basic services. Online lending is one of the tribes' largest revenue streams and accounts for a large percentage of the tribes' budget for government services, they said.
"The State's aim is to protect New York consumers from predatory loans in New York, and the detrimental effect of the enforcement action on the Tribes is merely a collateral consequence of the laws' goal," Sullivan wrote.
New York's regulators have been the most active of any state's in seeking to curtail online lending that violates the interest rate cap. On Monday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered five firms that collect debt for payday lenders to reimburse borrowers and cease their efforts to collect on their loans.
This is actually very
This is actually very interesting from a legal standpoint... the indian commerce clause is really starting to lose its value.
yep
i think they figured out what we did.the tribe just gives their"IMMUNITY"to a money man and the tribe benefits some,but not near as much as the money man.sorry but once that is proven the tribes should pay for that.
Tribes Appeal Judge's Decision in Online Lending Case
LOL they are so stupid smh
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20131007-706369.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Two American Indian tribes are appealing a federal judge's decision to allow New York's top banking regulator to curb high-rate loans made to consumers over the Internet.
The Otoe Missouria Tribe and Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians filed a notice of appeal Friday of Judge Richard Sullivan's Sept. 30 order denying the tribes' request for a preliminary injunction against New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky and his agency.
The tribes, which operate online-lending businesses that were among the targets of a recent crackdown by Mr. Lawsky, sued the regulator in August, alleging his efforts violated their federally recognized rights as sovereign nations. Those rights make them immune from state enforcement actions, they argued in their suit.
But Judge Sullivan sided with Mr. Lawsky in his order last week, determining the regulator has authority to enforce state laws against such lenders because their loans are made to residents of New York.
"The state's action is directed at activity that takes place entirely off tribal land, involving New York residents who never leave New York state," Judge Sullivan wrote in an order filed in U.S. District Court in New York. "These consumers are not on a reservation when they apply for a loan, agree to the loan, spend loan proceeds, or repay those proceeds with interest."
David Bernick, an attorney representing the tribes, said Monday his clients plan to seek an expedited schedule for their appeal "because of the continuing deterioration in the ability of the tribes to do business" as a result of Mr. Lawsky's actions.
A spokesman for Mr. Lawsky didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Mr. Lawsky in August sent cease and desist letters to 35 online lenders, including several that are owned or operated by Indian tribes. As of last month at least 21 of those companies have either stopped making loans in New York, which bans interest rates above 16% on certain loans, or shut down entirely, according to the regulator's office.
The banking regulator also urged banks that process customer-loan payments for such lenders to sever ties with the companies, a move that industry analysts say has hindered the online lenders' ability to do business.
The state crackdown comes amid increased scrutiny of high-rate Internet lenders at the federal level.
Last month, the Otoe Missouria Tribe and Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana lost a bid to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal regulator established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, from probing their operations.
The CFPB ordered the lenders to comply with civil subpoenas issued in June 2012 seeking information on their businesses. The CFPB said it is probing whether the lenders are violating federal laws while making or advertising loans.
Write to Andrew R. Johnson at andrew.r.johnson@dowjones.com
Submitted by bestofthenewsouth on Wed, 10/09/2013 - 13:53