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The Supreme Court has asked the Trump administration to weigh in on three disputes over whether federally chartered banks must pay interest on some mortgage-escrow balances when state law requires it. That invitation, issued October 5, 2026, is not a decision to hear the cases and does not resolve whether homeowners are entitled to interest. As of October 7, the Solicitor General’s position and the Court’s next step were still unknown.
What the Supreme Court’s request means
The Court invited the Solicitor General to file a brief stating the United States’ views in Cantero, Flagstar Bank v. Kivett, and Citizens Bank v. Conti. The request is sometimes called a “call for the views of the Solicitor General.” It gives the federal government an opportunity to address the legal questions before the justices decide what to do with the petitions.
CU Today reported on October 6, 2026, that the Court had not agreed to hear the cases. An invitation for the government’s views is not a grant of review, a ruling for either side, or a decision that the petitions will be considered together. The government’s eventual recommendation and the Court’s response had not been reported as of October 7.
Why mortgage-escrow interest is disputed
A mortgage-escrow account holds money collected from a borrower so a servicer or bank can pay bills such as property taxes and homeowners insurance. The legal dispute is whether federal banking law lets national banks disregard state laws requiring interest on qualifying escrow balances.
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Federal law regulates aspects of escrow administration. The Second Circuit’s May 5, 2026, opinion notes that the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) limits how much lenders may require borrowers to keep in escrow and requires a remaining balance to be returned after payoff, but does not generally require interest to be paid on escrow funds.
That means the dispute is not a rule that every mortgage escrow account must earn interest. A borrower’s entitlement can depend on the applicable state law, the account and institution involved, and later court or regulatory action. The cases concern how particular state requirements interact with federal banking law.
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How the three Supreme Court petitions differ
| Case | State-law issue | What the current record establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Cantero | New York General Obligations Law § 5-601 requires covered mortgage-investing institutions to credit qualifying residential escrow accounts with at least 2% interest annually. | The Second Circuit held on remand that the requirement was preempted as applied to Bank of America. A petition is before the Supreme Court; the Court has not granted review. |
| Flagstar Bank v. Kivett | California Civil Code § 2954.8(a) addresses interest on mortgage-escrow funds. | The petition raises whether the National Bank Act preempts California’s requirement. The Ninth Circuit dispute is pending before the Supreme Court; the supplied case summary does not establish a Supreme Court ruling. |
| Citizens Bank v. Conti | Rhode Island is involved, according to CU Today’s October 6, 2026, report. | The Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General’s views on the petition. The available reporting does not specify the Rhode Island statutory requirement or establish that the Court granted review. |
The National Bank Act is central to the dispute over national banks: the question is whether a state requirement impermissibly interferes with powers federal law gives those banks. The California case summary frames the broader issue as whether the Act preempts state rules setting financial terms for federally chartered banks’ escrow accounts. The three petitions raise related questions, but the available sources do not establish that they have been consolidated.
What the Supreme Court decided in 2024—and what it did not
The Cantero litigation reached the Supreme Court after the Second Circuit initially found New York’s interest requirement preempted. In 2024, the Supreme Court vacated that decision and sent the case back because the appeals court had not compared the nature and degree of the state law’s practical interference with national-bank powers against the Court’s earlier preemption decisions. AP described the required review as a “nuanced analysis.”
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The 2024 decision did not decide that New York’s law was valid or invalid. It supplied the approach the lower court had to apply on remand: assess the practical effect of the state requirement rather than rely on a categorical rule.
What happened on remand in the New York case
On May 5, 2026, a divided Second Circuit again held that New York’s two-percent requirement was preempted as applied to Bank of America. The majority reasoned that the law affected national banks’ mortgage-lending powers, constrained the terms of escrow accounts, and interfered with those powers to a degree comparable to state laws invalidated in earlier cases.
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Judge Myrna Pérez dissented. She emphasized the Supreme Court’s warning against a categorical approach and argued for a different assessment of the law’s practical effects. Her dissent is a competing judicial view; the panel’s majority opinion is the Second Circuit’s holding.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A separate lawsuit challenges OCC escrow rules
The Supreme Court petitions are distinct from a separate challenge to rules issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in May 2026 concerning the discretion of national banks and federal savings associations over interest on escrow accounts.
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On August 11, 2026, California’s attorney general announced that a coalition of ten states had sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. The states allege that the rules exceed the OCC’s authority and improperly displace state consumer protections. Those are the states’ allegations, not a final judicial determination; the available announcement does not establish the outcome of the lawsuit.
What this could mean for homeowners
The invitation alone does not change what a bank pays, establish a homeowner’s right to interest, or resolve an individual account dispute. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the petitions, and the sources describing these cases do not establish a nationwide estimate of how many borrowers could be affected or how much any borrower might gain or lose.
Homeowner-side advocate Jonathan Taylor characterized the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision as vindicating Congress’ decision in Dodd-Frank to rein in aggressive preemption of state consumer-financial laws. That is an advocate’s interpretation of the decision, not a holding by the Court.
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