Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has been blocked from pursuing national banks for allegedly discriminatory lending practices.
Southern District of New York Judge Sidney Stein Wednesday issued an injunction sought by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, ruling that Spitzer does not have the authority to enforce anti-discrimination laws against the banks.
Judge Stein found that Spitzer's assertion of authority to enforce the laws is pre-empted by the National Bank Act and a regulation under the act adopted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the agency responsible for supervising the nation's banking system. The OCC's authority to visit and supervise the national banks, the judge found, was exclusive.
Details here from New York Law Journal via Law.com.