Capital One Financial Corp., one of the nation's leading credit card companies, has sued to keep its records out of the hands of California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is investigating whether the bank's credit card business violated the state's false advertising and unfair competition laws, reports the Reuters news service. Capital One contends that it is a national bank, which means that only the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency can examine its records and enforce applicable laws.

According to the lawsuit, Brown requested "books and records ... and interviews with employees" and expressed "substantial concerns about the credit card practices of Capital One." He also wanted to know about "solicitations for credit cards applications mentioning balance transfers, issues of credit cards on reaffirmation of preexisting debt and accounting closing practices."