Bill to Support Black and Community Banks Introduced

WASHINGTON - Feb. 3, 2019 - PRLog -- New federal banking legislation,"H.R.41 - RESCUE Act for Black and Community Banks" was introduced by Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Il) on January 3, 2019.

We worked, along with the Financial Services Innovation Coalition, to draft this new legislation, which contains many of the ideas we have been working on for some time. The bill is designed to take a focused approach to saving and expanding the number of Black-owned banks operating in the US. This legislation is designed to meet the needs of the Black community, not just serve bankers. Our contributions were part of a collaborative effort in the overall national interest.

The bill, which has just started the legislative approval process, contains the following provisions:

1. Establishes in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency the "Office of Black and Community Banks".

2. Seeks to partially or completely exempt Black banks and community banks from Federal banking statutes and regulations, to the extent the Comptroller determines it appropriate without endangering the safety and soundness of such banks.

3. Seeks to have the Securities and Exchange Commission issue regulations to reduce the regulatory burden applicable to Black banks and community banks—
(i) under the amendments made by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act;
(ii) issuing mortgage-backed securities; and
(iii) issuing securities backed by loans guaranteed by the Small Business Act.

4. Provides a crowdfunding exemption for Black and Community Banks under the JOBS Act.

5. Reestablishes the federal Minority Bank Deposit Program.

6. Expands federal agency use of Black and community banks.

7. Gives specific consideration under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for majority institutions that partner with Black and community banks.

8. Calls for a study on the use of New Markets Tax Credits by Black an community banks.

Community banks in general and black banks in particular, have suffered in the decade since the great recession. Black banks have almost become extinct with barely 20 banks left. These declines have had especially devastating effects on black communities. Black home-ownership is less now than it was in 1968, and black wealth is unchanged over that same period of time, with some predicting black wealth will be zero by 2053.

African Americans are excluded, with the exception of token representation, from owning regulated institutions in the financial services industry, without access to the prosperous and dynamic activities of banking, venture capital and investing. The combined assets of all black banks were less than $6 billion as of 10/31/18 according to the Federal Reserve Board. It is well known that less than 1% of VC money finds its way to minorities and women. This is evident by the small size of black banks as compared to their non-minority counterparts. Wells Fargo has $11 trillion in assets. In fact, the 600th richest person in the world is worth over $5 billion and the 10th richest venture capital (VC) firm is worth roughly $5 trillion.

Remedial action is clearly a necessity and we are glad someone with Congressman Bobby Rush's stature and history is leading this fight. Contact us for more information.

To see the full text of the bill, visit: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/41

Also see: https://www.hr41.info