Improving Access to Traditional Banking Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1285 To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish an Office for Under-Banked, Un-Banked, and Underserved Consumers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish an Office for Under-Banked, Un-Banked, and Underserved Consumers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Access to 4 Traditional Banking Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1285 IH SEC. 2. OFFICE FOR UNDER-BANKED, UN-BANKED, AND UN- 1 DERSERVED CONSUMERS. 2 Section 1013 of the Consumer Financial Protection 3 Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493) is amended by adding at 4 the end the following: 5 ‘‘(i) OFFICE FOR UNDER-BANKED, UN-BANKED, 6 AND UNDERSERVED CONSUMERS.— 7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Before the end of the 8 90-day period beginning on the date of the enact- 9 ment of the subsection, the Bureau shall— 10 ‘‘(A) establish an Office for Under- 11 Banked, Un-Banked, and Underserved Con- 12 sumers (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Office’), 13 the functions of which shall include activities 14 designed to better assess the reasons for the 15 lack of, and help increase the participation of, 16 under-banked, un-banked, and underserved con- 17 sumers in the banking system; and 18 ‘‘(B) lead coordination between the appro- 19 priate Federal banking agencies, the National 20 Credit Union Administration, and State bank- 21 ing supervisors on this matter to ensure the 22 most efficient and effective use of governmental 23 resources. 24 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1285 IH ‘‘(A) RESEARCH.—The Office shall con- 1 duct research to identify any causes and chal- 2 lenges contributing to the decision of individ- 3 uals who, and households that, do not initiate 4 or maintain on-going and sustainable relation- 5 ships with depository institutions, including 6 consulting with trade associations representing 7 minority depository institutions, organizations 8 representing the interests of traditionally under- 9 served consumers and communities, organiza- 10 tions representing the interests of consumers 11 (particularly low- and moderate-income individ- 12 uals), civil rights groups, community groups, 13 consumer advocates, and the Consumer Advi- 14 sory Board about this matter. 15 ‘‘(B) BEST PRACTICES AND STRATE- 16 GIES.—The Office shall identify best practices 17 and develop and implement strategies to in- 18 crease the participation of under-banked, un- 19 banked, and underserved consumers in the 20 banking system. 21 ‘‘(C) FINANCIAL EDUCATION.—The Office 22 shall identify and develop strategies to increase 23 financial education to under-banked, un-banked, 24 and underserved consumers. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1285 IH ‘‘(D) REPORT.— 1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 2 submit a report to Congress, within two 3 years of the establishment of the Office 4 and every 2 years thereafter, that identifies 5 any factors impeding the ability to, or lim- 6 iting the option for, individuals or house- 7 holds to have access to on-going and sus- 8 tainable relationships with depository insti- 9 tutions to meet their financial needs, dis- 10 cusses any regulatory, legal, or structural 11 barriers to enhancing participation of 12 under-banked, un-banked, and underserved 13 consumers with depository institutions, and 14 contains regulatory and legislative rec- 15 ommendations to promote better participa- 16 tion for all consumers with the banking 17 system. 18 ‘‘(ii) TIMING OF REPORT.—To the ex- 19 tent possible, the Office shall submit each 20 report required under clause (i) during a 21 year in which the Federal Deposit Insur- 22 ance Corporation does not issue the report 23 on encouraging use of depository institu- 24 tions by the unbanked required under sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1285 IH tion 49 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 1 Act. 2 ‘‘(3) USE OF ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 3 The Bureau and the Office, in carrying out this sub- 4 section, and each Federal agency specified under 5 paragraph (1)(B), in coordinating with the Bureau, 6 shall use all available data sources when researching 7 participation of under-banked, un-banked, and un- 8 derserved consumers in the banking system.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS