Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) today released a discussion draft of proposed legislation to address alleged debanking by banks and banking regulators by creating a national standard for account access and establishing new watchdog mechanisms for banking agencies.
According to the document, the proposed Ensuring Fair Access to Banking Act would establish a federal fair access standard that would preempt state-level fair access laws and contain “reasonable regulatory-related exceptions” to guard against unsafe or unsound practices or illicit activity.
The proposal also would permanently repeal the use of reputational risk by regulators; create a special inspector general within the Treasury Department to receive, review and report on allegations of financial regulator overreach or abuse; and adjust the currency transaction report threshold to $45,000 and the relevant suspicious activity report thresholds to $4,000 and $10,000, with annual adjustments for inflation.
