The House Financial Services Committee today passed a number of ABA-advocated bills. The committee unanimously passed H.R. 1426, a bipartisan bill that would provide greater flexibility to banks chartered under the Home Owners’ Loan Act and H.R. 2226, which would provide a Qualified Mortgage safe harbor for loans held in portfolio — both of which were top priorities for ABA. The committee also unanimously passed H.R. 4725, which would reduce the regulatory reporting burden on community banks.
Two other ABA-supported bills were also approved by the committee: H.R. 4771, which would update the small bank holding company policy statement asset threshold from $1 billion to $3 billion, passed by a vote of 41-14, while H.R. 4607, a bill to improve the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act regulatory review process, passed by a vote of 38-17.
The committee also voted by a 30-25 margin to advance 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 previously that a tailored, risk-based approach would be more effective than an arbitrary asset threshold.
