Usury Ceilings and DIDMCA
Title V of the Depository Institutions
Deregulation and Monetary Control Act
(DIDMCA) preempted certain state usury
ceilings - the legal interest limits that may be
charged on loans. It provided a federal ceiling
as an alternate to state ceilings on some loan
transactions and left rates for other types of
loans to be determined by the market. The
preemptions were permanent in most cases, although
in one case the preemption was temporary
and has already expired. In all cases, the
federal preemption could be overridden by individual
states.