Bill > HR6955

This bill, the Main Street Capital Access Act, aims to improve federal banking laws by promoting new bank formation with a three-year phase-in for capital standards and allowing flexibility for business plan changes, while also establishing a lower Community Bank Leverage Ratio for rural banks and expanding agricultural loan authority for federal savings associations. It mandates annual reports from various federal agencies on bank and credit union charter applications to increase transparency and requires agencies to consider the risk profile and business models of institutions when tailoring regulations, with specific provisions for small bank holding companies and adjustments to regulatory thresholds based on economic growth. The bill also seeks to enhance fair and transparent bank supervision by proposing amendments to the CAMELS rating system to ensure objectivity and transparency, establishing timelines for examinations and reports, creating an Office of Independent Examination Review to handle complaints and ensure quality, and providing a right to independent review of material supervisory determinations. Furthermore, it aims to strengthen local bank funding by reviewing discount window operations, adjusting rules for reciprocal deposits to keep them local, and creating an exception for custodial deposits, while also promoting bank competition by streamlining merger reviews for smaller institutions and studying merger review procedures. Finally, the bill addresses transparency in bank resolutions by allowing exceptions to the least costly resolution method under certain conditions and studying the use of shelf charters and modified bidder qualification processes, and it facilitates innovation by modernizing merchant banking rules and enhancing bank-Fintech partnerships through studies and recommendations.

Business and Industry

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6955/all-info