The Senate voted 85-5 to pass bicameral housing legislation that includes several ICBA-advocated community bank regulatory relief provisions, sending the bill to the House for a final vote.
Details: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644)—which House and Senate leaders last week agreed to in a bipartisan deal—includes ICBA-advocated provisions to:
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Allow community banks to hold custodial deposits and more reciprocal deposits without them being considered brokered deposits, which are subject to restrictions.
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Provide an 18-month exam cycle and other exam relief for banks with up to $6 billion in assets.
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Promote the formation of de novo community banks by streamlining the application process.
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Create a two-year pilot program to promote the creation of de novo banks, especially in rural areas, by providing more regulatory, capital, and lending flexibility.
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Establish a Treasury Financial Agent program enabling partnerships between minority depository institutions, rural community banks, and other financial institutions.
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Require the federal banking agencies to study improving the growth, capital adequacy, and profitability of rural depository institutions.
ICBA View: In a national news release, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey thanked members of the Senate and House who have worked with ICBA to advance community bank relief and encouraged lawmakers to send the legislation to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
ICBA Advocacy:
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Last week’s House-Senate deal followed months of ICBA advocacy, including at this year’s ICBA Capital Summit and via a series of grassroots campaigns that generated hundreds of community banker messages to Congress.
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After lawmakers announced the deal, ICBA urged Congress to pass the legislation.
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The legislative package contains many items advanced in ICBA’s open letter to the 119th Congress and in Romero Rainey’s testimony last year at the House Financial Services Committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress.
Next Steps: The legislation now heads to the House for a final vote, which could come as soon as today. If it passes, it will go to the president to be signed into law.