Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
1334, the Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act of
2015.

In 2012, Congress raised the threshold number of shareholders a bank
can have before they must register with Securities and Exchange
Commission from 500 to 2,000.

At the same time, Congress raised the threshold for bank shareholders
from 300 to 1,200 before a bank could deregister for the Securities and
Exchange Commission and convert to a private bank.

However, due to a drafting oversight, these raised thresholds
currently do not apply to savings and loan institutions.

These institutions are vital for the continued development and growth
of our economy.

For a large segment of American homeowners, savings and loan
institutions are the primary source of financial assistance for
purchasing a home.

Some would say that the structure in which these companies are built
is the same structure that our country was built. They are generally
locally owned and privately managed; and communities use these
businesses as a savings institution and use these funds to help other
individuals in the community construct, purchase, repair, or refinance
their home.

With a locally owned, community driven foundation, it is wrong to
subject these businesses to the same level of oversight and regulation
as a large bank without affording them the same registration and
deregistration thresholds.

I support this bill because I believe Congress must use every effort
to build up the American people on a local level. We are not going to
grow our economy from Washington, D.C., but we can create an
environment on a state and local level that empowers Americans to grow
themselves.

I would like to thank my colleague from Arkansas, Mr. Womack, for his
hard work on this issue and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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