American Access to Banking Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4544, the American Access to Banking Act that I sponsored.

The number of new banks and credit unions called de novo institutions, that were formed over the past 15 years has been very low. There were only 6 new bank charters issued annually the past 15 years and only 29 new credit unions formed between 2014 and 2023.

During that time, we saw about one-third of all Minority Depository Institutions, or MDIs, disappear, including half of our Black-owned banks.

Now, research from the Federal Reserve and others found a strong correlation between the interest rate environment and new bank formation.

In fact, we did have historically low interest rates at zero percent for many years as we slowly recovered from the crisis, but there is more we can do to help.

Earlier this year, ReShonda Young testified before our committee about the challenges she is facing just trying to establish an MDI in Iowa.

Ms. Young's story is remarkable. When she was a small business owner with a popcorn business, she tried to get a loan, and she was discriminated against by bank after bank after bank.

What did she do? She joined with other entrepreneurs and sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for dragging its feet and not implementing section 1071 to ensure we have a more fair and transparent small business loan market. Her lawsuit helped push the CFPB to finalize that overdue rule.

But Ms. Young did not stop there. She decided to start her own bank so that she could provide the kind of small business loans to others that she was repeatedly denied for.

Ms. Young's story is an American story. When you get knocked down, you get back up and you keep pushing for a better way. Not only that, but you work to help others in your community so they can have chances that you never had.

In her testimony, Ms. Young highlighted a few challenges with the de novo process, like a lengthy application checklist. My bill would require these outdated procedures to be streamlined.

My bill would also minimize duplicative data requests, and require regulators to review capital-raising challenges de novos face in consultation with the SEC.

My bill also requires the designation of a caseworker as a single point of contact to assist de novo applicants throughout the process.

H.R. 4544 further requires the development of outreach and education program and Federal regulator engagement with stakeholders as well as coordination with State regulators to support them in chartering de novo firms.

For any American like Ms. Young who wants to start a bank or credit union, they should have that chance, and the American Access to Banking Act will help give them that chance.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support my bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman very much for advancing my bill to this point and helping to get it passed through the House not only as a standalone bill but also as part of our housing bill.

Entrepreneurs like Ms. ReShonda Young who dream of starting their own bank or credit union and providing access to affordable financial products and services to neighbors in their community should have that chance.

My bill has broad support, including from the American Bankers Association, America's Credit Unions, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Consumer Federation of America, Defense Credit Union Council, National Bankers Association, and National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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