Eight Banking Bills that Aren't Going Away
January 28, 2013 8:42 AM
Several pieces of banking-related legislation that were introduced — but not enacted — during the 112th Congress are due to make a repeat appearance in the just-begun 113th Congress. Here are some bills expected to get reintroduced, including everything from restructuring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, reforms to stabilize the Federal Housing Administration and required disclosures of privacy notices.
Expect continued debate on a bill, first introduced in late 2012 by Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., that is designed to prevent the Federal Housing Administration from going off the financial edge. It would enhance authority for the FHA - which is staring down a roughly $16 billion shortfall from loan defaults - to enhance its revenue streams and in turn prevent a Treasury Department bailout. (Image: Thinkstock)
Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Robert Menendez, D-Calif., made numerous attempts in the last Congress to expand eligibility for the federally-sponsored Home Affordable Refinance Program, but the bill continued to face Republican opposition in the Senate and would likely face a tougher road in the House. Yet the bill's supporters are likely to reintroduce some version of the bill during the new session. (Image: Bloomberg News)
A long-pending bill to increase credit unions' business lending limits - which has always been a bone of contention between banks and credit unions - is likely not going away. Last year, Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., tried expanding support for the legislation by combining it with a bill - supported by community bankers - to extend federal deposit insurance for transaction accounts. In the end, Congress failed to enact either measure. But the business-lending cap is a huge issue for credit unions, so expect them to take another crack. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Industry observers anticipate lawmakers will reintroduce a bill to establish a new independent appeals process for banks with low exam ratings. The previous version of the legislation, authored by Reps. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., sparked concerns from the federal bank regulators, who suggested it could hurt safety and soundness. (Image: Bloomberg News)
The House passed a bill last term to exempt banks from privacy notice requirements if a bank's disclosure is unchanged from notices sent out the previous year. Even though passage in the Senate faces a tougher challenge, the legislation is expected to come back in the 113th session. (Image: Fotolia)
Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., got close in the last Congress to passing a bill to build the infrastructure for a U.S. covered bond market . But the bill has continued to face opposition from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. over concerns that covered bonds could increase the cost of bank failures. Garrett appears to care about the issue enough that he could make another attempt at enactment. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Though it did not get enacted through the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform law, Reps. Michael Capuano and Barney Frank - both Massachusetts Democrats - introduced legislation late in 2012 to merge the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The two lawmakers are positioned to renew the bill. Frank has since retired from the House, but appears to be under consideration to fill the seat temporarily of outgoing Sen. John Kerry, and Capuano remains a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.
Republicans are sure to renew legislation to reform the CFPB, most notably a provision to replace the bureau's current leadership structure of single-director oversight with that of a commission. The issue could dominate much of the early debate in the banking committees on Capitol Hill amid continued controversy over the administration's appointment of Richard Cordray to run the CFPB. Democrats in Congress and the administration have so far not been open to any of the proposed CFPB changes.
