The House voted by a bipartisan 247-171 margin to pass an ABA-advocated bill expanding the regulatory relief offered under the Federal Reserve’s small bank holding company policy statement. Sponsored by Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), H.R. 3791 raises the asset threshold for relief under the statement from $1 billion to $5 billion, exempting more than 400 additional community banks from certain capital and regulatory requirements. The threshold was previously raised from $500 million to $1 billion in 2015.
“This legislation facilitates the ability of community banks to issue debt and raise capital; thus increasing their involvement in promoting the growth of their local economies,” ABA said in a memo sent to House members yesterday. “This is important as regulators have proposed through other regulations to increase capital requirements for both community banks and larger institutions in the coming years.”