Linda A. Watters, Commissioner, Michigan Office of Insurance and Financial Services v. Wachovia Bank, N. a., et al. (550 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 17, 2007 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 550 U.S. 1 · 127 S. Ct. 1559
- Decided
- April 17, 2007
- Term
- October Term 2006
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice Ginsburg
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court. Business activities of national banks are controlled by the National Bank Act (NBA or Act), 12 U. S. C. § 1 et seq., and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). See §§24, 93a, 371(a). As the agency charged by Congress with supervision of the NBA, OCC oversees the operations of national banks and their interactions with customers. See NationsBank of N. C., N. A. v. Variable Annuity Life Ins. Co., 513 U. S. 251, 254, 256 (1995). The agency exercises visitorial powers, including the authority to audit the bank’s books and records, largely to the exclusion of other governmental entities, state or federal. See § 484(a); 12 CFR § 7.4000 (2006). The NBA specifically authorizes federally chartered banks to engage in real estate lending. 12 U. S. C. § 371. It also provides that banks shall have power “[t]o exercise ... all such incidental powers as shall be necessary to carry on the business of banking.” §24 Seventh. Among incidental powers, national banks may conduct certain activities through “operating subsidiaries,” discrete entities authorized to engage solely in activities the bank itself could undertake, and subject to the same terms and conditions as those applicable to the bank. See § 24a(g)(3)(A); 12 CFR § 5.34(e) (2006). Respondent Wachovia Bank, a national bank, conducts…
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