Legislation marked up today supports ongoing access to community banking in local communities

Washington, D.C. (May 16, 2024) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today commended members of the House Financial Services Committee who voted to advance a slate of ICBA-advocated bills that support community banks and the local communities they serve.

“While community banks are the nation’s leading small-business and agricultural lenders, a rash of rulemakings totaling 7,000 pages of new regulations since July threaten to undermine this critical source of credit in local communities,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said. “ICBA and the nation’s community banks commend members of the House Financial Services Committee who today voted to advance targeted community bank relief from burdensome regulations to support economic and job growth in communities nationwide.”

During today’s markup, the committee voted to advance:

  • Rep. Andy Barr’s (R-Ky.) Promoting Access to Capital in Underbanked Communities Act of 2023 (H.R. 758), which would provide more regulatory, capital, and lending flexibility to facilitate the creation of de novo banks.

  • The CDFI Fund Transparency Act (H.R. 3161), introduced by Reps. John Rose (R-Tenn.) and Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) to require annual Treasury Department testimony on CDFI Fund operations.

  • Rep. Barr’s Bank Resilience and Regulatory Improvement Act (H.R. 8337), which would raise the asset exemption thresholds of five burdensome regulatory provisions, including the Durbin Amendment and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau supervision, to support tiered regulation.

  • Rep. Barr’s Bank Supervision Appeals Improvement Act (H.R. 8264) to create a workable appeals process for bank examinations.

  • The Small Bank Holding Company Relief Act of 2023 (H.R. 4346), Rep. Alex Mooney’s (R-W.Va.) bill to raise the asset threshold to qualify as Small Bank Holding Companies from $3 billion to $10 billion to help community banks raise capital.

  • Rep. Barr’s Rectifying UDAAP Act (H.R. 6789), which would clarify and balance the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to oversee unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices.

  • The Small Lenders Exempt from New Data and Excessive Reporting Act (H.R. 1806), Rep. French Hill’s (R-Ark.) bill to expand exemptions from the CFPB’s 1071 rule and extend the rule’s compliance deadline.

  • The Bank Loan Privacy Act (H.R. 1810) from Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), which would require the CFPB to conduct a rulemaking on financial institution and credit applicant data it plans to publish under the 1071 rule.

The markup comes as ICBA calls for regulators to enact meaningful regulatory relief via their latest comprehensive review under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act.

More information on the community banking industry’s top policy priorities is available on the ICBA website.

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.

As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.