ABA Writes Lawmakers in Support of Reg Relief Bills

The American Bankers Association today wrote to members of the House Financial Services Committee in support of several bills scheduled for consideration tomorrow. Specifically, ABA supported H.R. 1426, a bipartisan bill that would provide greater flexibility to banks chartered under the Home Owners’ Loan Act; H.R. 2226, which would provide a Qualified Mortgage safe harbor for loans held in portfolio; H.R. 4607, which would improve the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act regulatory review process; H.R. 4725, which would reduce the regulatory reporting burden on community banks; H.R. 4771, which would update the small bank holding company policy statement asset threshold from $1 billion to $3 billion; and H.R. 4790, which would simplify the Volcker Rule and provide an exemption for banks under $10 billion in assets.

ABA also expressed its willingness to work with the committee on H.R. 1264, a bill introduced by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) that would exempt banks with less than $50 billion in assets from all rules and regulations issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While ABA supports the effort to reduce the burden on community banks, it noted that a tailored, risk-based approach would be more effective than an arbitrary asset threshold.

The association also wrote to members of the full House in support of H.R. 2954. The bill — introduced by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) — would specifically exempt small banks and credit unions from HMDA reporting obligations if they have originated 1,000 or fewer closed-end mortgages in each of the two preceding calendar years or 2,000 or fewer open-ended lines of credit in each of the two preceding calendar years. The House is expected to consider the bill this week.

This article has been updated.

Share.

About Author

Monica C. Meinert is a senior editor at the ABA Banking Journal and VP for editorial strategy at the American Bankers Association, where she oversees ABA Daily Newsbytes.