Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of Democratic and Republican attorneys general to oppose a proposed rule change they say would undermine efforts to crack down on predatory lending. 

The move would essentially allow some lenders to charge high rates beyond state-based caps or usury laws that are alreadty in place. 

The attorneys general sent a comment letter over the regulatory change to the federal Office of the Comptroller of Currency, which regulates and licenses national banks who charge interest rates on loans. 

“At a time when credit card companies are making record profits and millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet, it is disappointing that the federal government has chosen to protect big banks’ profits rather than vulnerable consumers,” James said in a statement. “Rather than stem the tide of exploitative and predatory loans that trap consumers in a cycle of debt, the OCC wants to open the floodgates by sanctioning schemes that allow the financial services industry to target New Yorkers. Rent-a-bank schemes make a mockery of federal law, and the OCC’s sanctioning of these schemes is an insult to the majority of states whose citizens have rejected the absurd notion that freedom means the ‘right’ to take out a loan at a triple-digit interest rate.”

The letter was backed by the AGs in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, in addition to the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protections.