Lawsuit could undo Oregon’s ban on excessive out-of-state interest rates

That’s because some out-of-state lenders use a federal law to bypass Oregon’s interest rate cap. The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 allows state-chartered banks to export their interest rates to other states. The law opts Oregon out of the federal law so out-of-state lenders can no longer charge Oregonians interest rates exceeding the state’s cap on loans of $50,000 or less. Bill sponsor optimistic Oregon law will prevail in courtThe lawsuit didn’t come as a surprise, Sosa said in a phone interview. The lending groups argued that federal law only lets states regulate banks within their own boundaries, not out-of-state lenders.