S. 2698 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2698 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 30, 2014 Mr. King (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Tester, and Mrs. Fischer) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide regulatory easement for lending institutions that enable a vibrant economy. 1. Short title (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Regulatory Easement for Lending Institutions that Enable a Vibrant Economy Act of 2014 or the RELIEVE Act. (b) Table of Contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. TITLE I—Expansion of small bank holding company policy statement definition Sec. 101. Changes required to small bank holding company policy statement on assessment of financial and managerial factors. Sec. 102. Conforming amendment. Sec. 103. Definitions. TITLE II—Qualified mortgages for rural lenders Sec. 201. Qualified mortgages for rural lenders. TITLE III—Insurance of amounts held on behalf of others Sec. 301. Insurance of amounts held on behalf of others. I Expansion of small bank holding company policy statement definition 101. Changes required to small bank holding company policy statement on assessment of financial and managerial factors (a) In general Before the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (hereafter in this Act referred to as the Board) shall publish in the Federal Register proposed revisions to the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors (12 C.F.R. part 225 appendix C) that provide that the policy shall apply to bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies which have pro forma consolidated assets of less than $1,000,000,000 and that— (1) are not engaged in significant nonbanking activities either directly or through a nonbank subsidiary; (2) do not conduct significant off-balance sheet activities (including securitization and asset management or administration) either directly or through a nonbank subsidiary; and (3) do not have a material amount of debt or equity securities outstanding (other than trust preferred securities) that are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (b) Exclusions The Board may exclude any bank holding company or savings and loan holding company, regardless of asset size, from the policy statement under subsection (a) if the Board determines that such action is warranted for supervisory purposes. 102. Conforming amendment Section 171(b)(5)(C) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5371(b)(5)(C)) is amended by inserting or small savings and loan holding company after any small bank holding company. 103. Definitions For the purposes of this title: (a) Bank holding company The term bank holding company has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841). (b) Savings and loan holding The term savings and loan holding company has the same meaning as in section 10(a) of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(a)). II Qualified mortgages for rural lenders 201. Qualified mortgages for rural lenders Section 129C(b)(2) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1639c(b)(2)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (E)(vi)(II), by striking a limit set by the Board and inserting 1,000 per year; and (2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following: (F) Rural The term rural means any area other than— (i) a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants; and (ii) any urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town described in clause (i). . III Insurance of amounts held on behalf of others 301. Insurance of amounts held on behalf of others Section 207(k) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1787(k)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— (A) by inserting after payable to any member the following: , or to any person with funds lawfully held in a member account,; and (B) by striking and paragraphs (5) and (6); (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking (as determined under paragraph (5)); (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and (4) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following: (5) Coverage for interest on lawyers trust accounts and other similar escrow accounts (A) Pass-through insurance The Administration shall provide pass-through share insurance for the deposits or shares of any interest on lawyers trust account (commonly referred to as IOLTA) or other similar escrow accounts. (B) Treatment of IOLTAs (i) Treatment as escrow accounts For share insurance purposes, IOLTAs are treated as escrow accounts. (ii) Treatment as member accounts IOLTAs and other similar escrow accounts are considered member accounts for purposes of paragraph (1), if the attorney administering the IOLTA or the escrow agent administering the escrow account is a member of the insured credit union in which the funds are held. (C) Definitions For purposes of this paragraph: (i) Interest on lawyers trust account The terms interest on lawyers trust account or IOLTA mean a system in which lawyers place certain client funds in interest-bearing or dividend-bearing accounts, with the interest or dividends then used to fund programs such as legal service organizations who provide services to clients in need. (ii) Pass-through share insurance The term pass-through share insurance means, with respect to IOLTAs and other similar escrow accounts, insurance coverage based on the interest of each person on whose behalf funds are held in such accounts by the attorney administering the IOLTA or the escrow agent administering a similar escrow account, in accordance with regulations issued by the Administration. (D) Rule of construction No provision of this paragraph shall be construed as authorizing an insured credit union to accept the deposits of an IOLTA or similar escrow account in an amount greater than such credit union is authorized to accept under any other provision of Federal or State law. .