FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
House committee passes industry-backed reg relief bills
The House Financial Services Committee passed several industry-supported bills during a two-day markup.
The committee voted to advance:
- The FDIC Board Accountability Act (H.R. 3446) by a 26-23 vote. Introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., it would require the appointment of a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board of directors with experience in small depository institutions.
- The Tailored Regulatory Updates for Supervisory Testing (TRUST) Act of 2025 (H.R. 4478) by a 49-0 vote. From Reps. Tim Moore, R-N.C., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., this bill would raise the consolidated asset threshold from $3 billion to $6 billion for banks to qualify for an 18-month examination cycle.
- The Bringing the Discount Window into the 21st Century Act (H.R. 3390) from Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, by a 48-1 vote. It would modernize the Federal Reserve's discount window lending programs to improve their effectiveness as a tool for managing liquidity risk.
- The panel on Tuesday voted 53-1 to pass the Supervisory Modifications for Appropriate Risk-based Testing (SMART) Act of 2025 (H.R. 4437). Introduced by Reps. William Timmons, R-S.C., and Bill Foster, D-Ill., the bill would provide well-managed and well-capitalized financial institutions under $6 billion in assets with regulatory relief, such as alternating limited-scope exams and a combined safety-and-soundness exam and consumer compliance exam.
GENIUS Act bill to establish stablecoin regulations signed into law
President Donald Trump signed into law the GENIUS Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The bill signing follows a House vote last week of 308-122 to pass the GENIUS Act following Senate passage last month.
As with other legislation signed into law by the president, there will be an extensive regulatory implementation process for the GENIUS Act before many of the provisions take effect. Industry will remain heavily engaged throughout the rulemaking process.
Federal court reinstates fired NCUA board members
A federal court ruled that the firings of two former National Credit Union Administration board members by President Trump were unlawful and therefore both individuals can remain on the board.
Bowman provides rationale for capital standards, bank ratings reform
In an interview on CNBC, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman spelled out her approach to reforming capital requirements for large banks, saying it was time to evaluate what has and hasn’t worked since passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Senators introduce bill to roll back 1071 requirements
Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and John Boozman, R-Ark., introduced legislation to shield community banks from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Section 1071 small-business reporting rule.
The Preventing Regulatory Overreach to Empower Communities to Thrive and Ensure Data privacy (PROTECTED) Act would:
• Exempt community banks with less than $10 billion in assets or that have originated fewer than 2,500 small-business credit transactions in each of the previous two years.
• Restrict the definition of affected small businesses to entities with gross annual revenues of less than $1 million to reduce the reporting burden.
• Require the CFPB to conduct updated cost-benefit analyses prior to the rule’s implementation.
Read about the introduced legislation
The House Financial Services Committee in April advanced the industry-advocated 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act to repeal the statute that underlies the CFPB rule. Further, the Small LENDER Act (H.R. 941), introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., would mitigate the impact of the 1071 rule by exempting more community banks and small businesses.
As a result of three ongoing legal challenges to the 2023 final rule, some institutions are protected by court orders that temporarily stay the 1071 rule’s compliance deadlines. In a court filing earlier this month in the lawsuit challenging the Section 1071 rule, the CFPB confirmed that it plans to issue new 1071 rulemaking as soon as possible.
Read more about the court filing
The CFPB’s rule – issued in March 2023 – requires lenders to collect and report data on credit applicants, including the race, sex and ethnicity of the principal owners as well as gross annual revenue.