Capital Briefs: Tenn. Gives State Banks Insurance Powers

Knocking out a state anti-affiliation statute, Tennessee regulators on Tuesday gave banks in that state the power to sell insurance from small towns.

Tennessee follows Florida, Connecticut, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois, which in recent weeks have changed laws or rules to put their state-chartered banks on an equal footing with national banks. On March 26, the Supreme Court ruled that national banks may sell insurance from towns with fewer than 5,000 people.

A joint release by Douglas M. Sizemore, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, and Bill C. Houston, commissioner of the state's Department of Financial Institutions, noted that banks may not condition loan approvals on the purchase of an insurance policy.