Supreme Court weighs whether Dodd‑Frank preempts state escrow interest rules in Quintero v. Bank of America

The Supreme Court heard argument on whether Section 25(b) of the Dodd‑Frank Act preempts state consumer‑financial laws that affect national banks, focusing on New York’s mortgage escrow interest rule in Quintero v. Bank of America, No. 22529. Petitioner’s counsel, Mister Taylor, urged the Court to require courts to consider a state law’s practical effect and warned that the second circuit’s broader "control" test would nullify much of §25(b). Respondent’s counsel (identified in the transcript as "Miss Black" and elsewhere as "Miss Blatt") argued that New York’s law "significantly interferes" with national banking powers because it sets interest attributes on escrow accounts and that allowing 50 differing state rules would destroy national banks’ uniform federal character.

Why this matters: Section 25(b) instructs that a state consumer‑financial law is preempted only if it "prevents or significantly interferes" with the exercise of a national bank’s powers. The parties disagree on how to apply that language: petitioner says the phrase requires courts to examine practical, real‑world effects (and to consider…