Captial Briefs: Measure Would Help State Banks Branch

Rep. Marge Roukema, R-N.J., and other key lawmakers are expected to introduce legislation today that would make it easier for state-chartered banks to branch across state lines.

The bill would let state banks exercise powers allowed by their home state regulators when they branch into other states. However, these activities would be limited to those permitted for national banks.

Other sponsors for the measure are House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach, R-Iowa, and Rep. John LaFalce, D-N.Y. The three lawmakers wrote to other House members Tuesday seeking co-sponsors for the measure.

"This legislation ... preserves the viability of the state charter option for banks that want to branch into other states," they wrote in the letter.

The bill is supported by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which argues state banks will increasingly switch to federal charters to avoid the hassle of conflicting state laws after the Riegle-Neal interstate branching law takes full effect in June.

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