Ruling allows Spitzer's probe of banks NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge handed New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer a victory on Monday when he refused to grant a temporary restraining order that would have stopped Spitzer from investigating large U.S. banks for their lending practices to minorities. The order was sought by eight members of The Clearing House Association of 11 banks and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which are suing Spitzer's office on grounds that states do not have jurisdiction over national banks. But Judge Sidney Stein in the Southern District of New York allowed Spitzer to continue his probe despite the suits. The suit was filed on behalf of eight federally chartered banks of the 11-member association: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , Citigroup (C.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , Wachovia Corp. (WB.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , HSBC Holdings (0005.HK: Quote , Profile , Research ) , LaSalle Bank Corp. and U.S. Bancorp (USB.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) . The other three members of the Clearing House Association are Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote , Profile , Research ) , The Bank of New York Co. (BK.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) and UBS Ag (UBSN.VX: Quote , Profile , Research ) . At least three of the Clearing House banks -- JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and HSBC -- are being investigated by Spitzer over the terms and conditions under which they lend minorities. In April, Spitzer sent letters to lenders asking how they set loan prices and fees after U.S. government loan pricing data from mortgage lenders in March showed minorities frequently paid higher interest rates and higher fees than white customers. "We will continue to analyze the data ... nothing has changed," said Deputy Attorney General Dietrich Snell after the ruling. The OCC -- part of the U.S. Treasury -- and the bank group filed suit against the New York attorney general's office last Thursday. Spitzer called the OCC's actions "shameful" and questioned its claim that his investigation was interfering with the OCC. The OCC regulates and supervises all national banks as well as branches and agencies of non-U.S. banks. The 150-year-old Clearing House Association lobbies on behalf of its membership on issues like regulation and accounting rules. Earlier this month, U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich said loan pricing information collected by the U.S. government and being examined by Spitzer under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), specifically price data for higher-priced mortgages, increase "the robustness of HMDA data" but "the data alone do not prove discrimination. Gramlich added in his June 3 remarks to the National Association of Real Estate Editors that "one cannot draw definitive conclusions about whether particular lenders discriminate unlawfully or take advantage of consumers" relying solely on the HMDA data. Quelle "Ruling allows Spitzer's probe of banks" : reuters.com Main page for "Ruling allows Spitzer's probe of banks"