Lewis Roca Blog

In 1980, Congress passed Public Law 96-221, called the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (“DIDMCA”), which, in part, allowed federally insured state banks, state credit unions, and state savings institutions the ability to export the “interest” permitted under their home state laws to customers/borrowers in other states without regard to any “interest” limitations in the customer’s/borrower’s home or domiciled state. This put state-chartered banks on equal footing with national banks and federal credit unions, which already could lend across the nation at any interest rate allowed in their respective home states. DIDMCA, under Section 525, also permitted states to opt-out of allowing this kind of interest rate exportation (Sections 521-523 of DIDMCA). As referenced above, federal interest rate exportation authority of national banks or federal credit unions is not based on DIDMCA and will therefore not apply to the following discussion.