[Congressional Bills 118th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8337 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8337 To amend the Federal banking laws to improve the safety and soundness of the United States banking system, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 10, 2024 Mr. Barr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Federal banking laws to improve the safety and soundness of the United States banking system, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Bank Resilience and Regulatory Improvement Act''. (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I--FINANCIAL INSTITUTION REGULATORY TAILORING ENHANCEMENT Sec. 101. Increased asset thresholds. TITLE II--BANK FAILURE PREVENTION Sec. 201. Complete record on an application. TITLE III--STRESS CAPITAL BUFFER REQUIREMENTS Sec. 301. Rulemaking related to stress capital buffer requirements. Sec. 302. Rulemaking relating to stress testing. Sec. 303. GAO report. TITLE IV--BANK SUPERVISION APPEALS IMPROVEMENT Sec. 401. Timeliness of examinations and required permission, regulatory, and reporting guidance. Sec. 402. Update of independent intra-agency appellate process for reviewing material supervisory determinations. Sec. 403. Review of resolution actions resulting in a material loss. TITLE V--REVIEW OF DISCOUNT WINDOW OPERATIONS Sec. 501. Review of discount window operations. TITLE VI--SMALL BANK HOLDING COMPANY RELIEF Sec. 601. Changes required to the Small Bank Holding Company and Savings and Loan Holding Company Policy Statement. TITLE I--FINANCIAL INSTITUTION REGULATORY TAILORING ENHANCEMENT SEC. 101. INCREASED ASSET THRESHOLDS. (a) Bureau Supervision.--Section 1025(a) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5515) is amended by striking ``$10,000,000,000'' each place it occurs and inserting ``$50,000,000,000''. (b) Durbin Amendment Requirements.--Section 921(a)(6) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(a)(6)) is amended by striking ``$10,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$50,000,000,000''. (c) Volker Rule Requirements.--Section 13(h)(1)(B)(i) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1851(h)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ``$10,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$50,000,000,000''. (d) Qualified Mortgage Requirements.--Section 129C(b)(F)(i) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1639c(b)(F)(i)) is amended by striking ``$10,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$50,000,000,000''. (e) Leverage and Risk-Based Capital Requirements.--Section 201(a)(3)(A) of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5371 note (a)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``$10,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$50,000,000,000''. TITLE II--BANK FAILURE PREVENTION SEC. 201. COMPLETE RECORD ON AN APPLICATION. (a) Bank Holding Companies.--Section 3(b)(1) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1842(b)(1)) is amended-- (1) by striking ``Upon receiving'' and inserting the following: ``(A) In general.--Upon receiving''; (2) by striking ``required'' and inserting ``acquired''; (3) by striking ``In the event of the failure of the Board to act on any application for approval under this section within the ninety-one-day period which begins on the date of submission to the Board of the complete record on that application, the application shall be deemed to have been granted.''; and (4) by adding at the end the following: ``(B) Complete record on an application.-- ``(i) Notice to applicant.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Board receives an application for approval under this section, the Board shall transmit to the applicant a letter that either-- ``(I) confirms the record on the application is complete; or ``(II) details all additional information that is required for the record on that application to be complete. ``(ii) Extension of notice.--Notwithstanding clause (i), the Board may, if an application is unusually complex, extend the 30-day period described under clause (i) for an additional 30 days. ``(iii) Receipt of response; deeming of complete record.--Upon receipt of a response from an applicant to a notice requesting additional information described under clause (i)(II), the record on the application shall be deemed complete unless the Board-- ``(I) determines that the applicant's response was materially deficient; and ``(II) not later than 30 days after the date on which the Board received the response, provides the applicant a detailed notice describing the deficiencies. ``(iv) Treatment of third-party information.--In determining whether the record on an application is complete, the Board may take into account only information provided by the applicant, and may not base the determination of completeness on any information (including reports, views, or recommendations) provided by third parties. ``(C) Deadline for determination.-- ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Board shall grant or deny an application submitted under this section not later than 90 days after the date on which the application was initially submitted to the Board, regardless of whether the record on such initial application was complete. ``(ii) Failure to make a determination.--If the Board does not grant or deny an application within the time period described under clause (i), such application shall be deemed to have been granted. ``(iii) Tolling of period.--The Board may at any time extend the deadline described under clause (i) at the request of the applicant, but may not extend the deadline more than 30 days past the deadline described under clause (i).''. (b) Savings and Loan Holding Companies.--Section 10(e) of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(e)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, and shall render a decision within 90 days after submission to the Board of the complete record on the application''; (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (9); and (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following: ``(7) Complete record on an application.-- ``(A) Notice to applicant.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Board receives an application for approval under this subsection, the Board shall transmit to the applicant a letter that either-- ``(i) confirms the record on the application is complete; or ``(ii) details all additional information that is required for the record on that application to be complete. ``(B) Extension of notice.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Board may, if an application is unusually complex, extend the 30-day period described under subparagraph (A) for an additional 30 days. ``(C) Receipt of response; deeming of complete record.--Upon receipt of a response from an applicant to a notice requesting additional information described under subparagraph (A)(ii), the record on the application shall be deemed complete unless the Board-- ``(i) determines that the applicant's response was materially deficient; and ``(ii) not later than 30 days after the date on which the Board received the response, provides the applicant a detailed notice describing the deficiencies. ``(D) Treatment of third-party information.--In determining whether the record on an application is complete, the Board may take into account only information provided by the applicant, and may not base the determination of completeness on any information (including reports, views, or recommendations) provided by third parties. ``(8) Deadline for determination.-- ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the Board shall grant or deny an application submitted under this subsection not later than 90 days after the date on which the application was initially submitted to the Board, regardless of whether the record on such initial application was complete. ``(B) Failure to make a determination.--If the Board does not grant or deny an application within the time period described under subparagraph (A), such application shall be deemed to have been granted. ``(C) Tolling of period.--The Board may at any time extend the deadline described under subparagraph (A) at the request of the applicant, but may not extend the deadline more than 30 days past the deadline described under subparagraph (A).''. (c) Insured Depository Institutions.--Section 18(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1828(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(14) Complete Record on an Application.-- ``(A) Notice to applicant.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the responsible agency receives a merger application for approval under this subsection, the responsible agency shall transmit to the applicant a letter that either-- ``(i) confirms the record on the application is complete; or ``(ii) details all additional information that is required for the record on that application to be complete. ``(B) Extension of notice.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the responsible agency may, if an application is unusually complex, extend the 30-day period described under subparagraph (A) for an additional 30 days. ``(C) Receipt of response; deeming of complete record.-- Upon receipt of a response from an applicant to a notice requesting additional information described under subparagraph (A)(ii), the record on the application shall be deemed complete unless the responsible agency-- ``(i) determines that the applicant's response was materially deficient; and ``(ii) not later than 30 days after the date on which the responsible agency received the response, provides the applicant a detailed notice describing the deficiencies. ``(D) Treatment of third-party information.--In determining whether the record on an application is complete, the responsible agency may take into account only information provided by the applicant, and may not base the determination of completeness on any information (including reports, views, or recommendations) provided by third parties. ``(15) Deadline for Determination.-- ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the responsible agency shall grant or deny a merger application submitted under this subsection not later than 90 days after the date on which the application was initially submitted to the responsible agency, regardless of whether the record on such initial application was complete. ``(B) Failure to make a determination.--If the responsible agency does not grant or deny an application within the time period described under subparagraph (A), such application shall be deemed to have been granted. ``(C) Tolling of period.--The responsible agency may at any time extend the deadline described under subparagraph (A) at the request of the applicant, but may not extend the deadline more than 30 days past the deadline described under subparagraph (A).''. TITLE III--STRESS TESTING ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY SEC. 301. RULEMAKING RELATED TO STRESS CAPITAL BUFFER REQUIREMENTS. (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (in this title referred to as the ``Board'') shall issue a rule to establish any models, assumptions, formulas, or other decisional methodologies that are used to determine any component or subcomponent of the stress capital buffer requirement for a bank holding company. (b) Changes.--The Board may only make changes to the rule issued under subsection (a) through notice and comment rulemaking. (c) Stress Capital Buffer Requirement Defined.--The term ``stress capital buffer requirement'' has the meaning given the term in section 225.8(c) of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. SEC. 302. RULEMAKING RELATING TO STRESS TESTING. (a) In General.--Beginning in the first calendar year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Board shall, not less than 30 days before conducting a stress test pursuant to section 165(i) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010, issue a rule to establish each scenario to be used in such stress test. (b) Prohibition.--The Board may not, by rule or otherwise, subject any nonbank financial company to a climate-related stress test using the authority provided in section 165(i) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010. SEC. 303. GAO REPORT. (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall, every 3 years, conduct a study and submit a report to the Congress with respect to the stress tests conducted by the Board under section 165(i) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 in the 3 most recent calendar years. (b) Contents.--The report submitted to the Congress under subsection (a) shall-- (1) evaluate whether the stress tests are sufficiently robust and promote preparedness; and (2) consider whether the stress tests adequately identify salient risks to-- (A) the safety and soundness of the nonbank financial institutions subjected to stress tests; (B) the stability of the United States financial system. TITLE IV--BANK SUPERVISION APPEALS IMPROVEMENT SEC. 401. TIMELINESS OF EXAMINATIONS AND REQUIRED PERMISSION, REGULATORY, AND REPORTING GUIDANCE. (a) Exit Interview Requirement; Timeliness of Examinations.-- (1) Insured depository institutions.--Section 10(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1820(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(11) Examination timeliness.--The appropriate Federal banking agency shall complete any examination of an insured depository institution within 270 days of commencing the examination, except that such period may be extended by the appropriate Federal banking agency by providing written notice to the insured depository institution describing with particularity the reasons that a longer period is needed. ``(12) Exit interview requirement.--Within 30 days of completing an examination, the appropriate Federal banking agency shall conduct an exit interview with the insured depository institution's senior management and board of directors. ``(13) Timeliness of examination reports.-- ``(A) Final examination report.--With respect to an examination of an insured depository institution by an appropriate Federal banking agency, the appropriate Federal banking agency shall provide a final examination report to the insured depository institution not later than 60 days after the later of-- ``(i) the exit interview for the examination; or ``(ii) the provision of additional information by the insured depository institution relating to the examination. ``(B) Examination materials.--Upon the request of an insured depository institution, the appropriate Federal banking agency shall include with a final examination report an appendix listing all materials relied upon by the agency in support of all material supervisory determinations. ``(C) Material supervisory determination defined.-- In this paragraph, the term `material supervisory determination' has the meaning given such term in section 309(i) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994.''. (2) Insured credit unions.--Section 204 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1784) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(h) Exit Interview Requirement; Timeliness of Examinations.-- ``(1) Examination timeliness.--The Board shall complete any examination of an insured credit union within 270 days of commencing the examination, except that such period may be extended by the Board by providing written notice to the insured credit union describing with particularity the reasons t