On Colorado’s Actions to Limit Interstate Banking under DIDMCA
The state of Colorado filed a response to our Petition for Rehearing en Banc in the10th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the majority of a three judge panel overturned a decision holding that Colorado couldn’t control out of state banks by opting out of the uniform federal interstate banking framework set by Congress and its Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (DIDMCA).
In our suit, AFSA and other national trade associations challenged Colorado’s misinterpretation of DIDMCA, which if allowed to stand would undermine the parity between state- and federal-chartered banks, upending the dual banking system.
As AFSA President and CEO Celia Winslow noted, “DIDMCA was intended to level the playing field between state and nationally chartered banks. Now, Colorado is attempting to regulate not just its state-chartered banks, but also banks chartered in other states. This is not what DIDMCA was intended to do and is certainly not in the best interests of consumers in Colorado or anywhere else.”
AFSA and our co-plaintiffs argue that if Colorado’s opt-out effort stands–and other states were to follow—the interest rate and rules governing a single contract or transaction would be subject nonsensically to conflicting state laws including the rate in a state where a consumer lives, the rate where a bank is chartered, and even potentially where a purchase is made. AFSA has long argued—and research confirms—that fewer credit options and restrictions on competition limit access to credit, especially for low-income Americans and reduce credit options for all consumers.
AFSA will continue to support the dual banking system and rights of state-chartered bank to operate on a level playing field with national banks.
Read the joint trade release here.
Read our Petition for Rehearing en Banc here
Read all AFSA resources on DIDMCA here
January 22nd, 2026