House passes ICBA-supported reg relief bill, sending it to the president

The House of Representatives voted 358-32 to pass bicameral housing legislation that includes several ICBA-advocated community bank regulatory relief provisions, sending the bill to the White House to be signed into law.

Bipartisan Support: In a national news release, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey commended Congress for passing the bill and said the vote is a testament to the community banking industry’s strong bipartisan support in Washington.

Details: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644) includes ICBA-advocated provisions to:

• Allow community banks to hold custodial deposits and more reciprocal deposits without them being considered brokered deposits, which are subject to restrictions.

• Provide an 18-month exam cycle and other exam relief for banks with up to $6 billion in assets.

• Promote the formation of de novo community banks by streamlining the application process.

• 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.

• Establish a Treasury Financial Agent program enabling partnerships between minority depository institutions, rural community banks, and other financial institutions.

• Require the federal banking agencies to study improving the growth, capital adequacy, and profitability of rural depository institutions.

ICBA Advocacy:

• ICBA this week urged representatives to pass the bill.

• Last week’s House-Senate deal on the legislation 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.

• 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 Up: ICBA urged the House to pass the Main Street Capital Access Act, comprehensive legislation championed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) that includes more than two dozen community bank priorities.

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