The U.S. House passed the Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1334) on Monday.
The legislation was introduced by U.S. Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR), Jim Himes (D-CT), John Delaney (D-MD) and Ann Wagner (R-MO). It was designed to provide savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs) with the same shareholder-registration thresholds that the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act previously had established for banks and bank-holding companies.
The bill was passed via a voice vote.
“Thank you to Chairman (Jeb) Hensarling (R-TX), the entire Financial Services Committee and the co-sponsors of this bill for their continued efforts to make right this JOBS Act oversight and ensure that savings-and-loan holding companies are treated in the same manner as bank and bank-holding companies,” Womack said. “I am hopeful that the third time is the charm and that the Senate will quickly pass this legislation, allowing SLHCs across the country to focus on serving the lending needs of their communities rather than unintended overregulation from Washington.”
“This is a simple fix of an oversight of the JOBS Act,” Himes said. “It was not the intention of Congress to treat savings and loans differently than bank and bank-holding companies in this context, and today’s passage of H.R. 1334 ensures that the shareholder registration threshold is applied equally. This will give smaller institutions the flexibility they need to compete in the market and help people get the loans they need for homes, cars or other large purchases, which is of vital importance in this economy.”
“I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation, which will help savings-and-loan holding companies serve their customers,” Delaney said. “I thank Congressman Womack for his work on this legislation, which is a common-sense fix that puts SLHCs on a level playing field with banks. To create jobs and grow our economy, we need to improve access to capital for small businesses and families.”
“I am pleased to help sponsor this bipartisan legislation so that Congress can help increase lending and investment in our local communities,” Wagner said. “Increasing the ability of these institutions to lend will, in turn, increase economic activity in Missouri and around the country.”