U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would boost the ability of community banks across the United States to grant credit to everyday working Americans.
“Having spent two decades in community banking in Arkansas, I understand the importance of being able to extend credit to hardworking Arkansans,” said Hill. “This bill attempts to relieve community banks from excessive and unnecessary regulatory burdens with the intent of improving their ability to extend credit in hometown communities across Arkansas and the nation.”
The Community Bank Access to Capital Act of 2017 would exempt community banks with $50 billion or less in assets from the Basel III international banking regulatory-framework capital rules.
Other provisions of the bill would increase the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement qualifying asset threshold from $1 billion to $3 billion, exempt publicly held community banks with less than $1 billion in assets from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s internal-control attestation requirements, and preserve current Securities and Exchange Commission rules on the definition of “unaccredited investor.”
Hill is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and serves as the committee’s majority whip. Prior to his community banking career, Hill served former president George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1991 as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for corporate finance.
Rep. David Scott (D-GA) joined Hill in introducing the bill.