House passes ROAD to Housing Act with community bank provisions

The House of Representatives passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644)—including ICBA-advocated community bank provisions—by a bipartisan vote of 396-13.

Next Steps: H.R. 6644, with the addition by the House of community bank regulatory relief provisions that had been stripped from the bill in the Senate, now returns to the Senate, where ICBA is urging lawmakers to approve the House version and send it to the president’s desk. The White House has reversed its position and now supports the House-passed version of the legislation.

Key Provisions: The bill includes provisions supported by ICBA and state community banking groups to:

• Help community banks maintain lower funding costs by allowing them to hold custodial deposits and more reciprocal deposits without them being considered brokered deposits, which are subject to restrictions.

• Provide an 18-month exam cycle and other exam relief for banks with up to $6 billion in assets, allowing more community banks to direct more resources toward serving their communities.

• Promote the formation of de novo community banks by streamlining the application process.

• Create a two-year pilot program to promote the creation of de novo banks, especially in rural areas, by providing more regulatory, capital, and lending flexibility for these banks.

• Establish a Treasury Financial Agent program enabling partnerships between minority depository institutions, rural community banks, and other financial institutions.

ICBA View: In a national news release, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey applauded the House for the bipartisan passage of the bill and said the pro-community bank regulatory reforms will help spur home construction and alleviate the housing crisis.

Recent Advocacy:

• ICBA and state community banking associations this week urged passage of the bill, noting the regulatory relief provisions would enable community banks to better serve local families, small businesses, and underserved communities without compromising financial stability.

• ICBA in March urged the Senate to include community bank provisions in the ROAD to Housing Act, noting that the bipartisan provisions were passed with overwhelming support in the House version.

• In a national news release after February’s House vote on a previous version of the bill, ICBA urged Senate passage.

Individual Bills Pass: The House also passed three individual ICBA-backed bills containing the custodial deposit, reciprocal deposit, and de novo provisions of the housing legislation with broad bipartisan support:

• The Keeping Deposits Local Act (H.R. 3234) passed 405-0.

• The American Access to Banking Act (H.R. 4544) passed 405-4.

• The Community Bank Deposit Access Act (H.R. 5317) passed 393-16.