Congresswoman Tenney's Bill Allowing Small Banks to Serve Communities Passes Out of Committee Unanimously

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) announced her bill, the Small Bank Exam Cycle Improvement Act, was passed out of the Financial Services Committee unanimously. Congressman Charlie Crist (FL-13) was an original co-sponsor of this bipartisan bill.

"Community banks are the lifeblood of upstate New York's economy. These institutions provide access to capital for entrepreneurs starting or growing their small business, family farmers acquiring new equipment, loans to new car buyers and mortgages to families purchasing a home. This bipartisan bill fixes a regulatory oversight to ensure that small institutions like Tioga National Bank, the Bank of Utica, Adirondack Bank and many others throughout the country can keep their doors open and continue to lend to their communities," said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. "As a result of Dodd-Frank's onerous one-sized-fits-all regulations, America loses one community bank per day. This bill alleviates small institutions from one-size-fits-all burden by changing the exam cycle asset threshold to give smaller sized banks more time to invest in job creators and help rural communities rebuild and grow. Furthermore, this bipartisan bill will free up federal financial regulators allowing them to invest more time examining those banks in trouble and those that need more supervision."

"I was Florida's Governor when the financial crisis hit. I never want any American to experience that again," said Crist. "But our community banks weren't the cause of the crisis. This bipartisan bill provides thoughtful relief to small banks, freeing up more resources to make more loans to middle class families and small businesses on Main Street, the heart of our economy and community."

This bill along with Rep. Tenney's bill, The Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2017, were both included in Senator Mike Crapo's bipartisan bill, The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act which passed the U.S. Senate 67-31.

Read more here:

H.R.5076 -- Under current law, banks with assets less than $1 billion are eligible for on-site examinations once every 18-months. The Small Bank Exam Cycle Improvement Act of 2018 moves the asset threshold to $3 billion. This bill would offer small banks the chance to have an 18-month exam cycle rather a 12-month exam cycle, giving the institutions additional time between costly and time-consuming exams.

H.R.3971-Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2017 passed the House with bipartisan support. This bill would alleviate a one-size-fits-all burden on small institutions that has approximately doubled the cost of servicing loans, specifically to low-income borrowers.

S.2155-The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act proposes common sense changes that will ensure small, rural, financial institutions will receive much needed relief from insufferable federal burdens.

Source