Bill > HR3709

This bill, titled the "Advancing the Mentor-Protégé Program for Small Financial Institutions Act," establishes a new "Financial Agent Mentor-Protégé Program" within the Department of the Treasury. This program aims to help smaller financial institutions, defined as those with total consolidated assets of $2 billion or less, or those that are minority-owned or rural-based, improve their capabilities. They can achieve this by being mentored by either a "financial agent" (a national banking association designated by the Treasury to act on behalf of the government) or a "large financial institution" (an entity regulated by specific financial authorities with at least $50 billion in assets). The goal is to prepare these smaller institutions to act as financial agents themselves or to enhance their ability to serve their customers. The Secretary of the Treasury is required to hold annual outreach events to encourage participation, establish a process for excluding entities from the program, and report to Congress on the program's progress, including participation numbers and outreach event frequency.