* Barney Frank, other Dems seek longer comment period
* Proposal aims to restrict OCC in preempting state laws
* OCC has been criticized for shielding large banks
* BofA, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo among banks the OCC oversees
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - Five Democrats are seeking more time for the public to influence a rule laying out when federal regulators can shield large U.S. banks from state consumer financial laws.
The five, including Barney Frank, who co-wrote last year's Dodd-Frank reform legislation, wrote a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In it, they ask the regulator to reopen the proposal's comment period, which ended June 27.
The proposal, called for in Dodd-Frank, is designed to make it more difficult for the OCC to "preempt" state laws such as those governing predatory lending, mortgage rules and credit cards. [ID:nN25148900]
Critics of the OCC charge that in the run-up to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, the agency was too aggressive in preventing states from enforcing some consumer protection laws, and took an expansive view of its ability to do so under the National Bank Act.
The Democrats said a longer comment period is necessary "in light of the history of the OCC's previous preemption rulemaking, the clear gravity of preemption determinations generally."
The OCC has said it uses its preemption authority to protect national banks from a patchwork of state laws that can be contradictory and difficult to comply with. It has also noted that much of the worst subprime lending activity occurred at institutions outside of the OCC's jurisdiction.
The OCC had no immediate comment about the letter.
Bank of America (BAC.N), JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) are among the banks the OCC regulates. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
