Transparency and Accountability for Business Standards Act

Summary: Transparency and Accountability for Business Standards Act  This bill requires a&nbsp;federal banking agency to&nbsp;publish for notice and comment: (1)&nbsp;the agency's rationale for,&nbsp;and cost-benefit analysis regarding, the adoption of any prudential regulation that is substantively more stringent than a corresponding international prudential standard; and (2) a proposal for, or the agency's rationale for not proposing, the repeal or amendment of any&nbsp;prudential regulation that is effectively superseded by the implementation of an international prudential standard. A federal banking agency must issue a report regarding any such final rule issued before the bill's enactment and on or after January 1, 2007.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency and Accountability for 
Business Standards Act''.

SEC. 2. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN PRUDENTIAL 
              REGULATIONS.

    (a) Rulemaking Requirement.--An appropriate Federal banking agency 
may not adopt or otherwise establish a prudential regulation that is 
substantively more stringent than a corresponding international 
prudential standard unless the appropriate Federal banking agency 
publishes, for public notice and comment--
            (1) a description of the agency's rationale for doing so; 
        and
            (2) a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of 
        the difference between the prudential regulation and the 
        corresponding international prudential standard, including--
                    (A) any impact on the pricing and availability of 
                credit in the aggregate and for specific types of 
                borrowers;
                    (B) any impact on liquidity in markets for 
                financial instruments in the aggregate and for specific 
                types of instruments;
                    (C) any impact of doing so on the competitiveness 
                of affected institutions; and
                    (D) any impact on employment, economic growth, and 
                the execution of monetary policy.
    (b) Requirements With Respect to Superseded Prudential 
Regulations.--An appropriate Federal banking agency may not adopt or 
otherwise establish a prudential regulation to implement an 
international standard that will result in a prudential regulation that 
is then in effect becoming a superseded prudential regulation, unless 
the appropriate Federal banking agency publishes for public notice and 
comment--
            (1) a proposal to repeal or amend the superseded prudential 
        regulation, or applicable part thereof; or
            (2) if the appropriate Federal banking agency does not 
        propose to repeal or amend the superseded prudential 
        regulation, or applicable part thereof, a description of the 
        agency's rationale for not doing so, which shall include a 
        comprehensive analysis of the incremental costs and benefits of 
        the superseded prudential regulation after the adoption of the 
        prudential regulation to implement an international standard.
    (c) Lookback Requirement.--With respect to a final rule issued by 
an appropriate Federal banking agency on or after January 1, 2007, but 
before the date of the enactment of this Act that established a 
prudential regulation that is substantively more stringent than a 
corresponding international prudential standard, or that resulted in 
another prudential regulation becoming a superseded prudential 
regulation, each appropriate Federal banking agency shall, not later 
than the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of this Act, issue a report to the Congress (and make such 
report available on the website of the agency) with respect to such 
rule, containing the description and analysis described under 
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) or paragraph (2) of subsection 
(b), as applicable.
    (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) Appropriate federal banking agency.--The term 
        ``appropriate Federal banking agency'' has the meaning given 
        that term under section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
            (2) Banking organization.--The term ``banking 
        organization'' means a depository institution or a depository 
        institution holding company, as such terms are defined, 
        respectively, under section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
        Act.
            (3) Corresponding international prudential standard.--The 
        term ``corresponding international prudential standard'' means 
        an international prudential standard on which a prudential 
        regulation is based, from which a prudential regulation is 
        derived, or to which a prudential regulation is otherwise 
        substantively similar.
            (4) Prudential regulation.--The term ``prudential 
        regulation'' means any rule or regulation relating to capital 
        requirements, leverage requirements, liquidity requirements, or 
        any similar requirements, including any rule or regulation that 
        imposes any minimum requirement on a banking organization's 
        amount of capital, debt, or liquid assets, either in absolute 
        terms or as a ratio of any measure of assets, exposures, or 
        cash inflows and outflows, or that conditions the ability of a 
        banking organization to take any action or imposes any 
        requirement based on any absolute or proportional measure of 
        capital, leverage, debt, or liquidity.
            (5) Prudential regulation to implement an international 
        standard.--The term ``prudential regulation to implement an 
        international standard'' means a prudential regulation that is 
        based on, derived from, or otherwise substantively similar to 
        an international prudential standard.
            (6) International prudential standard.--The term 
        ``international prudential standard'' means any standard that 
        has been adopted by an international institution comprised of 
        an appropriate Federal banking agency and banking supervisors 
        or central banks of jurisdictions other than the United States, 
        including the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the 
        Financial Stability Board, relating to capital requirements, 
        leverage requirements, liquidity requirements, or any similar 
        requirements, including any standard that contemplates minimum 
        requirements on a banking organization's amount of capital, 
        debt, or liquid assets, either in absolute terms or as a ratio 
        of any measure of assets, exposures, or cash inflows and 
        outflows, or that contemplates conditioning the ability of a 
        banking organization to take any action or imposing any 
        requirement based on any measure of capital, leverage, debt, or 
        liquidity.
            (7) Superseded prudential regulation.--The term 
        ``superseded prudential regulation'' means a prudential 
        regulation, with respect to which a prudential regulation to 
        implement an international standard addresses or would address 
        the same or similar risks or otherwise achieves or would 
        achieve the same or similar goals.