Pittsburgh Condo Deal Puts Banks Into Residential Real Estate
WASHINGTON (February 24, 2006) – In a letter delivered last week to the chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the president of the National Association of Realtors® responded to the recent defense by the OCC of its approvals permitting national banks to engage in new real estate and commercial activities. NAR President Thomas M.
Stevens of Vienna, Va., raised additional concerns with the OCC’s approval letter that gives a national bank, PNC, the right to build, Pittsburgh despite the longstanding congressional prohibition against mixing banking and commerce.