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.
