I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2158

To streamline the regulatory treatment of financial institutions, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 1, 1995

Mr. VENTO (for himself, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr.

KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. MFUME, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. BARRETT

of Wisconsin, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. BENTSEN) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial

Services

A BILL

To streamline the regulatory treatment of financial

institutions, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Institutions

5 Streamlined Regulatory Treatment Act of 1995’’.
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1 TITLE I—STREAMLINING CON2 SUMER PROTECTION RE3 QUIREMENTS

4 SEC. 101. JOINT STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARD5 ING LENDING PROCESS WITH RESPECT TO

6 HOME FINANCE.

7 (a) STUDY.—The Board of Governors of the Federal

8 Reserve, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop9 ment, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly—

10 (1) study the lending process as it relates to

11 home finance; and

12 (2) develop recommendations for appropriate

13 changes in Federal laws, including the Truth in

14 Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Proce15 dures Act, to—

16 (A) improve, harmonize, and simplify dis17 closures to consumers regarding home finance

18 loans, including the timing of such disclosures;

19 (B) to minimize burdens imposed on finan20 cial institutions under those laws; and

21 (C) improve requirements under section

22 106 of the Truth in Lending Act relating to de23 termination of finance charges, to ensure that

24 finance charges are more reflective of the cost

25 of credit and include costs currently excluded.
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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors

3 and the Secretaries shall submit a report to the Congress

4 containing the findings and recommendations of the study

5 required by this section.

6 SEC. 102. STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING EX7 EMPTION OF TRANSACTIONS FROM TRUTH IN

8 LENDING ACT REQUIREMENTS.

9 (a) STUDY.—The Board of Governors of the Federal

10 Reserve System (hereafter in this section referred to as

11 the ‘‘Board’’) shall conduct a study and develop rec12 ommendations regarding classes of transactions, if any,

13 which should not be subject to the requirements under the

14 Truth in Lending Act because application of those require15 ments do not provide a benefit to consumers in the form

16 of useful information or protection. In studying and deter17 mining those classes of transactions, the Board shall con18 sider, among other factors, loan size, status of the bor19 rower (including the sophistication of the borrower relative

20 to the complexity of the transaction), and whether the re21 quirements of the Truth in Lending Act make the credit

22 extension process more complicated or expensive for var23 ious classes of transactions.

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board shall submit
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1 a report to the Congress containing the findings and rec2 ommendations of the study required by this section.

3 SEC. 103. REDUCTION OF RESPA DISCLOSURE REQUIRE4 MENT BURDEN.

5 Section 6(a) of the Real Estate Settlement Proce6 dures Act (12 U.S.C. 2605), is amended to read as fol7 lows:

8 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE TO APPLICANT RELATING TO AS9 SIGNMENT, SALE, OR TRANSFER OF LOAN SERVICING.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each person who makes a

11 federally related mortgage loan shall disclose to each

12 person who applies for any such loan, at the time of

13 application for the loan, whether the servicing of any

14 such loan may be assigned, sold, or transferred to

15 any other person at any time while such loan is out16 standing.

17 ‘‘(2) SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT.—Any disclo18 sure of the information required under paragraph

19 (1) shall not be effective for purposes of this section

20 unless the disclosure is accompanied by a written

21 statement, in such form as the Secretary shall de22 velop before the expiration of the 180-day period be23 ginning on the date of enactment, that the applicant

24 has read and understood the disclosure and that is

25 evidenced by the signature of the applicant at the
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1 place where such statement appears in the applica2 tion.’’.

3 SEC. 104. ALTERNATIVE DISCLOSURES FOR ADJUSTABLE

4 RATE MORTGAGES.

5 (a) Section 127A(a)(2)(G) of the Truth in Lending

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 1637a(a)(2)(G)) is amended by inserting

7 before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, or a statement of

8 the maximum periodic payment amount that may be re9 quired under the terms of the plan’’.

10 (b) Section 128(a) of the Truth in Lending Act (15

11 U.S.C. 1638(a)) is amended by inserting at the end the

12 following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(14) In any variable rate residential mortgage

14 transaction, at the creditors’ option—

15 ‘‘(A) an historical example illustrating the

16 effects of interest rate changes implemented ac17 cording to the loan program; or

18 ‘‘(B) a statement indicating the maximum

19 periodic payment amount that may be required

20 under the terms of the plan.’’.

21 SEC. 105. HOME MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE ACT.

22 Section 309 of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

23 of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2808) is amended—

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ after the

25 section designation;
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1 (2) in the 2d sentence, by inserting before the

2 period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the

3 Board shall adjust the maximum dollar amount limi4 tation under this sentence on January 1, 1996, and

5 January 1 of every 5th year thereafter, as provided

6 in subsection (b)’’; and

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section:

9 ‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENT OF DOLLAR AMOUNT LIMITA10 TION.—The adjustment of the dollar amount limitation

11 under subsection (a) made for any year shall be made by

12 adjusting such limitation as then in effect (as it may pre13 viously have been adjusted) to reflect the percent change,

14 if any, in the Consumer Price Index prepared by the Bu15 reau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, as re16 ported on June 1 of the year preceding such adjustment

17 over such index as reported on June 1 of the year preced18 ing the last such adjustment, except that the adjustment

19 made on January 1, 1996, shall be made by adjusting the

20 dollar amount specified in subsection (a) to reflect the per21 cent change in such Consumer Price Index as reported on

22 June 1, 1995, over such index as reported on June 1,

23 1990.’’.
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1 SEC. 106. TRUTH IN SAVINGS ACT AMENDMENTS.

2 (a) EXEMPTION FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR CER3 TAIN ADVERTISING VIOLATIONS.—Section 271(a) of the

4 Truth and Savings Act (12 U.S.C. 271(a)) is amended

5 in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting after

6 ‘‘prescribed under this Act’’ the following: ‘‘, other than

7 a requirement regarding advertisements,’’.

8 (b) REPORT ON APPROPRIATENESS OF ANNUAL PER9 CENTAGE YIELD DISCLOSURE FORMULA.—Not later than

10 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

11 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall

12 submit to the Congress a report on the types of accounts,

13 if any, to which the application of the annual percentage

14 yield formula under section 263 of the Truth in Savings

15 Act is not appropriate. The report shall include for each

16 such type of account specified in the report (if any) rec17 ommendations regarding changes in law that are nec18 essary to provide for an appropriate calculation of interest

19 for purposes of disclosures under that section.

20 SEC. 107. ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER ACT CLARIFICA21 TION.

22 (a) Section 903(1) of the Electronic Fund Transfer

23 Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a(1)) is amended by inserting before

24 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, but such term does not in25 clude a card, device, or computer that a person may use

26 to pay for transactions through use of value stored on,
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1 or assigned to, the card, device, or computer, except for

2 those transactions where such card, device, or computer

3 is actually used to access an account to effect such trans4 action’’.

5 (b) Section 903(2) of the Electronic Fund Transfer

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a(2)) is amended by inserting before

7 the semicolon the following: ‘‘and does not include any

8 value which is stored on, or assigned to, a card, device,

9 or computer that enables a person to pay for transactions

10 through use of that stored value’’.

11 SEC. 108. INCENTIVES FOR SELF-TESTING.

12 (a) SELF-TESTING PURSUANT TO EQUAL CREDIT

13 OPPORTUNITY ACT.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Equal Credit Oppor15 tunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) is amended by

16 inserting after section 704 the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 704A. ENCOURAGING SELF-TESTING FOR COMPLI18 ANCE.

19 ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a creditor

20 that conducts self-testing of its lending operations to

21 measure compliance with this title shall not be required

22 to disclose the results of the self-testing to any department

23 or agency authorized to enforce this title.
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1 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this section shall prevent a depart2 ment or agency from obtaining the results of self-testing

3 by a creditor—

4 ‘‘(1) if the creditor conducted the self-testing at

5 the specific request of a department or agency;

6 ‘‘(2) if the creditor, or a person acting on its

7 behalf—

8 ‘‘(A) voluntarily releases or discloses all or

9 part of such results to the department or agen10 cy or to the general public, or

11 ‘‘(B) seeks to use the results, in the course

12 of a judicial or administrative proceeding or an

13 investigation of a department or agency, as evi14 dence of compliance by the creditor with this

15 title; or

16 ‘‘(3) through a discovery request made in the

17 course of a judicial or administrative proceeding that

18 is—

19 ‘‘(A) based on evidence obtained independ20 ently of the self-testing, and

21 ‘‘(B) filed after making a reasonable effort

22 to notify the creditor about the nature of the

23 dispute and attempting to achieve a settlement.

24 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the term ‘self-test25 ing’ means the practice of hiring or otherwise arranging
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1 for individuals to pose as applicants of the creditor to as2 certain how the creditor treats applicants.’’.

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions at the beginning of that Act is amended by in5 serting after the item relating to section 704 the fol6 lowing new item:

‘‘704A. Encouraging self-testing for compliance.’’.

7 (b) SELF-TESTING PURSUANT TO FAIR HOUSING

8 ACT.—The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.)

9 is amended by inserting after section 814 the following

10 new section:

11 ‘‘ENCOURAGING SELF-TESTING FOR COMPLIANCE

12 ‘‘SEC. 814A. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b),

13 a person that conducts self-testing of its residential real

14 estate transactions described in section 805(b)(1) to meas15 ure compliance with this title shall not be required to dis16 close the results of the self-testing to any department or

17 agency authorized to enforce this title.

18 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this section shall prevent a depart19 ment or agency from obtaining the results of self-testing

20 by a person or other entity—

21 ‘‘(1) if the creditor conducted the self-testing at

22 the specific request of a department or agency;

23 ‘‘(2) if the creditor, or a person acting on its

24 behalf—
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1 ‘‘(A) voluntarily releases or discloses all or

2 part of such results to the department or agen3 cy or to the general public, or

4 ‘‘(B) seeks to use the results, in the course

5 of a judicial or administrative proceeding or an

6 investigation of a department of agency, as evi7 dence of compliance by the creditor with this

8 title; or

9 ‘‘(3) through a discovery request made in the

10 course of a judicial or administrative proceeding that

11 is—

12 ‘‘(A) based on evidence obtained independ13 ently of the self-testing, and

14 ‘‘(B) filed after making a reasonable effort

15 to notify the creditor about the nature of the

16 dispute and attempting to achieve a settlement.

17 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section—

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘creditor’ has the meaning that

19 term has in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; and

20 ‘‘(2) the term ‘self-testing’ means the practice

21 of hiring or otherwise arranging for individuals to

22 pose as applicants of the creditor to ascertain how

23 the creditor treats applicants for credit.’’.
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1 SEC. 109. CONSUMER LEASING REQUIREMENTS.

2 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF DOLLAR AMOUNT IN DEFINI3 TION OF CONSUMER LEASE.—Section 181(1) of the Truth

4 in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1667(1)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘$50,000’’; and

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The

8 dollar amount specified in this paragraph shall be

9 adjusted by the Board on January 1 of every fifth

10 year after the year in which this sentence becomes

11 effective to reflect changes in the Consumer Price

12 Index prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

13 Department of Labor, as such index is reported on

14 June 1 of the year preceding such adjustment, over

15 such index as reported on June 1 of the year preced16 ing the last such adjustment.’’.

17 (b) AMENDMENTS TO CONSUMER LEASE DISCLO18 SURE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 182 of the Truth in

19 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1667a)) is amended—

20 (1) in the 1st sentence by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before

21 ‘‘Each lessor’’;

22 (2) in subsection (a) (as designated by para23 graph (1) of this subsection), in paragraph (10) by

24 striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon, in paragraph

25 (11) by striking the period and inserting a semi-
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1 colon, and by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraphs:

3 ‘‘(12) Capitalized cost; and

4 ‘‘(13) Residual value.’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 sections:

7 ‘‘(b)(1) The lessor shall, to the extent applicable, sep8 arately disclose in a format described by the Board—

9 ‘‘(A) the information specified in subsections

10 (a) (2), (3), (4), (9), (12), and (13);

11 ‘‘(B) whether or not the lessee has the option

12 to purchase the leased property (pursuant to sub13 section (a)(5)); and

14 ‘‘(C) in the case of such an option that must

15 be exercised at the end of the lease term, the price

16 at which the property may be purchased under the

17 option.

18 ‘‘(2) The Board shall prescribe the format for disclo19 sures under paragraph (1). The Board shall prescribe a

20 format that minimizes lessee confusion about the terms

21 of leases and avoids duplicating disclosures under this sec22 tion.

23 ‘‘(c) The Board may, by regulation, require the dis24 closure of information in addition to information otherwise

25 required to be disclosed under this section, and may mod-
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1 ify any disclosure requirement under this subsection, if the

2 Board determines that such regulations are necessary to

3 carry out the purposes of, or prevent evasions of, this

4 chapter.’’.

5 SEC. 110. CERTAIN CHARGES.

6 (a) THIRD PARTY FEES.—Section 106(a) of the

7 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605(a)) is amended

8 by adding after the 2d sentence the following new sen9 tence: ‘‘The finance charge shall not include fees and

10 amounts imposed by third party closing agents (including

11 settlement agents, attorneys, and escrow and title compa12 nies) if the creditor does not expressly require the imposi13 tion of the charges or the services provided and does not

14 retain the charges.’’.

15 (b) MORTGAGE BROKER FEES.—Section 106(a) of

16 the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605(a)) is amended

17 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(6) Mortgage broker fees.’’.

19 (c) TAXES ON SECURITY INSTRUMENTS OR EVI20 DENCES OF INDEBTEDNESS.—Section 106(d) of the

21 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605(d)) is amended

22 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(3) Any tax levied on security instruments or

24 on documents evidencing indebtedness if the pay25 ment of such taxes is a precondition for recording
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1 the instrument securing the evidence of indebted2 ness.’’.

3 (d) PREPARATION OF LOAN DOCUMENTS.—Section

4 106(e)(2) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C.

5 1605(e)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(2) Fees for preparation of loan-related docu7 ments and for attending or conducting settlement.’’.

8 (e) FEES RELATING TO PEST INFESTATIONS, IN9 SPECTIONS, AND HAZARDS.—Section 106(e)(5) of the

10 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605(e)(5)) is amended

11 by inserting ‘‘, including fees related to pest infestations,

12 premises and structural inspections, and flood hazards’’

13 before the period.

14 (f) ENSURING FINANCE CHARGES REFLECT COST OF

15 CREDIT.—

16 (1) REPORT.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6

18 months after the date of the enactment of this

19 Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Re20 serve System shall submit to the Congress a re21 port containing recommendations on any regu22 latory or statutory changes necessary—

23 (i) to ensure that finance charges im24 posed in connection with consumer credit
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1 transactions more accurately reflect the

2 cost of providing credit; and

3 (ii) to address abusive refinancing

4 practices engaged in solely for the purpose

5 of avoiding rescission.

6 (B) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—In prepar7 ing the report under this paragraph, the Board

8 shall—

9 (i) consider the extent to which it is

10 feasible to include in finance charges all

11 charges payable directly or indirectly by

12 the consumer to whom credit is extended,

13 and imposed directly or indirectly by the

14 creditor as an incident to the extension of

15 credit (especially those charges currently

16 excluded from finance charges under sec17 tion 106 of the Truth in Lending Act), ex18 cepting only those charges which are pay19 able in a comparable cash transaction; and

20 (ii) consult with and consider the

21 views of affected industries and consumer

22 groups.

23 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Board of Governors of

24 the Federal Reserve System shall prescribe any ap25 propriate regulation in order to effect any change in-
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1 cluded in the report under paragraph (1), and shall

2 publish the regulation in the Federal Register before

3 the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date

4 of enactment of this Act.

5 SEC. 111. EXEMPTIONS FROM RESCISSION.

6 (a) CERTAIN REFINANCING.—Section 125(e) of the

7 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1635(e)) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

9 (3);

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new

13 paragraph:

14 ‘‘(5) a transaction, other than a mortgage re15 ferred to in section 103(aa), which—

16 ‘‘(A) is a refinancing of the principal bal17 ance then due and any accrued and unpaid fi18 nance charges of a residential mortgage trans19 action as defined in section 103(w), or is any

20 subsequent refinancing of such a transaction;

21 and

22 ‘‘(B) does not provide any new consolida23 tion or new advance.’’.

24 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

25 Section 125(e)(2) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C.
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1 1635(e)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, other than a trans2 action described in subsection (e)(5),’’ after ‘‘a refinancing

3 or consolidation (with no new advances).’’.

4 SEC. 112. TOLERANCES; BASIS OF DISCLOSURES.

5 (a) TOLERANCES FOR ACCURACY.—Section 106 of

6 the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605) is amended

7 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(f) TOLERANCES FOR ACCURACY.—In connection

9 with credit transactions not under an open end credit plan

10 that are secured by real property or a dwelling, the disclo11 sure of the finance charge and other disclosures affected

12 by any finance charge—

13 ‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), shall

14 be treated as being accurate for purposes of this

15 title if the amount disclosed as the finance charge—

16 ‘‘(A) does not vary from the actual finance

17 charge by more than an amount equal to one18 half of the numerical tolerance corresponding

19 to, and generated by, the tolerance provided by

20 section 107(c) with respect to the annual per21 centage rate, but in no case may the tolerance

22 under this paragraph be less than $25 nor

23 greater than $200; or

24 ‘‘(B) is greater than the amount required

25 to be disclosed under this title; and
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1 ‘‘(2) shall be treated as being accurate for pur2 poses of section 125 if the amount disclosed as the

3 finance charge does not vary from the actual finance

4 charge by more than an amount equal to one-half of

5 one percent of the total amount of credit extended.’’.

6 (b) BASIS OF DISCLOSURE FOR PER DIEM INTER7 EST.—Section 121(c) of the Truth in Lending Act (15

8 U.S.C. 1631(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new sentence: ‘‘In the case of any consumer credit

10 transaction a portion of the interest on which is deter11 mined on a per diem basis and is to be collected upon

12 the consummation of such transaction, any disclosure with

13 respect to such portion of interest shall be deemed to be

14 accurate for purposes of this title if the disclosure is based

15 on information actually known to the creditor at the time

16 that the disclosure documents are being prepared for the

17 consummation of the transaction.’’.

18 SEC. 113. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lend20 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding

21 at the end the following new section:

22 ‘‘SEC. 139. CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY.

23 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY.—For any

24 consumer credit transaction subject to this title that is

25 consummated before the date of the enactment of the Fi-
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1 nancial Institutions Regulatory Relief Act of 1995, a cred2 itor or any assignee of a creditor shall have no civil, ad3 ministrative, or criminal liability under this title for, and

4 a consumer shall have no extended rescission rights under

5 section 125(f) with respect to—

6 ‘‘(1) the creditor’s treatment, for disclosure

7 purposes, of—

8 ‘‘(A) taxes described in section 106(d)(3);

9 ‘‘(B) fees and amounts described in section

10 106(e) (2) and (5);

11 ‘‘(C) fees and amounts referred to in the

12 3rd sentence of section 106(a); or

13 ‘‘(D) mortgage broker fees referred to in

14 section 106(a)(6);

15 ‘‘(2) the form of written notice used by the

16 creditor to inform the obligor of the rights of the ob17 ligor under section 125 if the creditor provided the

18 obligor with a properly dated form of written notice

19 published and adopted by the Board or a comparable

20 written notice; or

21 ‘‘(3) any disclosure relating to the finance

22 charge imposed with respect to the transaction if the

23 amount or percentage actually disclosed—

24 ‘‘(A) may be treated as accurate pursuant

25 to section 106(f), or
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1 ‘‘(B) is greater than the amount or per2 centage required to be disclosed under this title.

3 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply

4 to—

5 ‘‘(1) any individual action or counterclaim

6 brought under this title which was filed before June

7 1, 1995;

8 ‘‘(2) any class action brought under this title

9 for which a final order certifying a class was entered

10 before January 1, 1995;

11 ‘‘(3) the named individual plaintiffs in any class

12 action brought under this title which was filed before

13 June 1, 1995; or

14 ‘‘(4) any consumer credit transaction with re15 spect to which a timely notice of rescission was sent

16 to the creditor before June 1, 1995.’’.

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

18 for chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act is amended

19 by inserting after the item relating to section 138 the fol20 lowing new item:

‘‘Sec. 139. Certain limitations on liability.’’.

21 SEC. 114. LIMITATION ON RESCISSION LIABILITY.

22 Section 125 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C.

23 1635) is further amended by adding at the end the follow24 ing new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON RESCISSION.—An obligor shall

2 have no rescission rights arising from the form of written

3 notice used by the creditor to inform the obligor of the

4 rights of the obligor under this section, if the creditor pro5 vided the obligor the appropriate form of written notice

6 published and adopted by the Board, or a comparable

7 written notice of the rights of the obligor, that was prop8 erly completed by the creditor.’’.

9 SEC. 115. CALCULATION OF DAMAGES.

10 Section 130(a)(2)(A) of the Truth in Lending Act

11 (15 U.S.C. 1640(a)(2)(A)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘or (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(ii)’’;

13 and

14 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

15 the following: ‘‘, or in the case of an individual ac16 tion relating to a credit transaction not under an

17 open end credit plan that is secured by real property

18 or a dwelling, not less than $250 nor greater than

19 $2,500’’.

20 SEC. 116. ASSIGNEE LIABILITY.

21 (a) VIOLATIONS APPARENT ON THE FACE OF TRANS22 ACTION DOCUMENTS.—Section 131 of the Truth in Lend23 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1641) is amended by adding at the

24 end the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(e) LIABILITY OF ASSIGNEE FOR CONSUMER CRED2 IT TRANSACTIONS SECURED BY REAL PROPERTY.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi4 cally provided in this title, any civil action against

5 a creditor for a violation of this title, and any pro6 ceeding under section 108 against a creditor, with

7 respect to a consumer credit transaction secured by

8 real property may be maintained against any as9 signee of such creditor only if—

10 ‘‘(A) the violation for which such action or

11 proceeding is brought is apparent on the face of

12 the disclosure statement, any itemization of the

13 amount financed, or any other disclosure of dis14 bursement, provided in connection with such

15 transaction pursuant to this title; and

16 ‘‘(B) the assignment to the assignee was

17 voluntary.

18 ‘‘(2) VIOLATION APPARENT ON THE FACE OF

19 THE DISCLOSURE DESCRIBED.—For the purpose of

20 this section, a violation is apparent on the face of

21 the disclosure statement if—

22 ‘‘(A) the disclosure can be determined to

23 be incomplete or inaccurate from the face of the

24 disclosure statement; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the disclosure does not use the terms

2 or format required to be used by this title.’’.

3 (b) SERVICER NOT TREATED AS ASSIGNEE.—Section

4 131 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1641) is

5 amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 section:

7 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF SERVICER.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A servicer of a consumer

9 obligation arising from a consumer credit trans10 action shall not be treated as an assignee of such ob11 ligation for purposes of this section unless the

12 servicer is the owner of the obligation.

13 ‘‘(2) SERVICER NOT TREATED AS OWNER ON

14 BASIS OF ASSIGNMENT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE CON15 VENIENCE.—A servicer of a consumer obligation

16 arising from a consumer credit transaction shall not

17 be treated as the owner of the obligation for pur18 poses of this section on the basis of an assignment

19 of the obligation from the creditor or another as20 signee to the servicer solely for the administrative

21 convenience of the servicer in servicing the obliga22 tion. Upon written request by the obligor, the

23 servicer shall provide the obligor, to the best knowl24 edge of the servicer, with the name, address, and
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1 telephone number of the owner of the obligation or

2 the master servicer of the obligation.

3 ‘‘(3) SERVICER DEFINED.—For purposes of this

4 subsection, the term ‘servicer’ has the same meaning

5 as in section 6(i)(2) of the Real Estate Settlement

6 Procedures Act of 1974.’’.

7 SEC. 117. RESCISSION RIGHTS IN FORECLOSURE.

8 Section 125 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C.

9 1635), as amended by section 114, is further amended by

10 adding at the end the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(i) RESCISSION RIGHTS IN FORECLOSURE.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section

13 139, and subject to the time period provided in sub14 section (f), in addition to any other right of rescis15 sion available under this section for a transaction,

16 upon an action of a creditor to execute foreclosure

17 on the primary dwelling of an obligor securing an

18 extension of credit the obligor shall have a right to

19 rescind the transaction equivalent to other rescission

20 rights provided by this section, if—

21 ‘‘(A) a mortgage brokers fee is not in22 cluded in the finance charge in accordance with

23 the laws and regulations in effect at the time

24 the consumer credit transaction was con25 summated; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the form of notice of rescission for

2 the transaction is not the appropriate form of

3 written notice published and adopted by the

4 Board or a comparable written notice, or was

5 not properly completed by the creditor.

6 ‘‘(2) TOLERANCE FOR DISCLOSURES.—Notwith7 standing section 106(f), and subject to the time pe8 riod provided in subsection (f), for the purposes of

9 exercising any rescission rights following an action

10 by a creditor to foreclose on the principal dwelling

11 of the obligor securing an extension of credit, the

12 disclosure of the finance charge and other disclo13 sures affected by any finance charge shall be treated

14 as being accurate for purposes of this section if the

15 amount disclosed as the finance charge does not

16 vary from the actual finance charge by more than

17 $35.’’.

18 SEC. 118. APPLICABILITY.

19 The amendments made by subsections (a), (c), (d),

20 and (e) of section 110 and sections 112, 116, and 117

21 shall apply to all consumer credit transactions in existence

22 or consummated after the date of the enactment of this

23 Act.
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1 TITLE II—STREAMLINING MIS2 CELLANEOUS DEPOSITORY

3 INSTITUTION REQUIREMENTS

4 SEC. 201. STREAMLINED NONBANKING ACQUISITIONS BY

5 WELL CAPITALIZED AND WELL MANAGED

6 BANKING ORGANIZATIONS.

7 (a) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 4(j) of the

8 Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1843(j))

9 is amended as follows—

10 (1) in paragraph (1), strike ‘‘No’’ and insert in

11 its place ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (3), no’’;

12 and

13 (2) add at the end the following new para14 graphs:

15 ‘‘(3) NO NOTICE REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN

16 TRANSACTIONS.—No notice under paragraph (1) or

17 subsections (c)(8) or (a)(2)(B) is required for a pro18 posal by a bank holding company to engage in any

19 activity or acquire the shares or assets of any com20 pany if the proposal qualifies under paragraph (4).

21 ‘‘(4) CRITERIA FOR STATUTORY APPROVAL.—A

22 proposal qualifies under this paragraph if all of the

23 following criteria are met:
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1 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL CRITERIA.—Both before

2 and immediately after the proposed trans3 action—

4 ‘‘(i) the acquiring bank holding com5 pany is well capitalized;

6 ‘‘(ii) the lead insured depository insti7 tution of such holding company is well cap8 italized;

9 ‘‘(iii) well capitalized insured deposi10 tory institutions control at least 80 percent

11 of the aggregate total risk-weighted assets

12 of insured depository institutions controlled

13 by such holding company; and

14 ‘‘(iv) no insured depository institution

15 controlled by such holding company is

16 undercapitalized.

17 ‘‘(B) MANAGERIAL CRITERIA.—

18 ‘‘(i) WELL MANAGED.—At the time of

19 the transaction, the acquiring bank holding

20 company, its lead insured depository insti21 tution, and insured depository institutions

22 that control at least 90 percent of the ag23 gregate total risk-weighted assets of in24 sured depository institutions controlled by

25 such holding company are well managed.
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1 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON POORLY MAN2 AGED INSTITUTIONS.—

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—No insured

4 depository institution controlled by

5 the acquiring bank holding company

6 has received one of the lowest two

7 composite ratings at the later of the

8 institution’s most recent examination

9 or subsequent review.

10 ‘‘(II) RECENTLY ACQUIRED IN11 STITUTIONS.—Insured depository in12 stitutions acquired by the bank hold13 ing company within the previous

14 twelve months may be excluded for

15 purposes of subclause (I) if—

16 ‘‘(aa) the bank holding com17 pany has developed a plan ac18 ceptable to the appropriate Fed19 eral banking agency (as defined

20 in section 3 of the Federal De21 posit Insurance Act) for the insti22 tution to restore the capital and

23 management of the institution;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(bb) all such insured depos2 itory institutions represent, in

3 the aggregate, less than 10 per4 cent of the aggregate total risk5 weighted assets of all insured de6 pository institutions controlled by

7 the bank holding company.

8 ‘‘(C) ACTIVITIES PERMISSIBLE.—Following

9 consummation of the proposal, the bank holding

10 company engages directly or through a subsidi11 ary solely in:

12 ‘‘(i) activities that are permissible

13 under subsection (c)(8), as determined by

14 the Board by regulation or order there15 under, subject to all of the restrictions,

16 terms and conditions of such subsection

17 and such regulation or order; and

18 ‘‘(ii) such other activities as are other19 wise permissible under this section, subject

20 to the restrictions, terms and conditions,

21 including any prior notice or approval re22 quirements, provided in this section.

23 ‘‘(D) SIZE OF ACQUISITION.—

24 ‘‘(i) ASSET SIZE.—The book value of

25 the total assets acquired does not exceed
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1 10 percent of the consolidated total risk2 weighted assets of the acquiring bank hold3 ing company; and

4 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—The gross

5 consideration to be paid for the securities

6 or assets does not exceed 15 percent of the

7 consolidated Tier 1 capital of the acquiring

8 bank holding company.

9 ‘‘(E) NOTICE NOT OTHERWISE WAR10 RANTED.—For proposals described in para11 graph (5)(B), the Board has not, prior to the

12 conclusion of the period provided in paragraph

13 (5)(B), advised the bank holding company that

14 a notice under paragraph (1) is required.

15 ‘‘(5) NOTIFICATION.—

16 ‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIVITIES AP17 PROVED BY RULE.—A bank holding company

18 that qualifies under paragraph (4) and that

19 proposes to engage de novo, directly or through

20 a subsidiary, in any activity that is permissible

21 under subsection (c)(8), as determined by the

22 Board by regulation, may commence that activ23 ity without prior notice to the Board and must

24 provide written notification to the Board no
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1 later than 10 business days after commencing

2 the activity.

3 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES PERMITTED BY ORDER

4 AND ACQUISITIONS.—At least twelve business

5 days prior to commencing any activity pursuant

6 to paragraph (3) other than an activity de7 scribed in subparagraph (A) or acquiring shares

8 or assets of any company pursuant to para9 graph (3), the bank holding company must pro10 vide the Board written notification of the pro11 posal, unless the Board determines that no no12 tice or a shorter notice period is appropriate. A

13 notification under this subparagraph must in14 clude a description of the proposed activities

15 and the terms of any proposed acquisition.

16 ‘‘(C) ACQUISITIONS OF SAVINGS ASSOCIA17 TIONS.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

19 subparagraphs (A) and (B), a bank hold20 ing company that qualifies under para21 graph (4) and that proposes to acquire the

22 shares or assets of a savings association,

23 shall, at least thirty days prior to the ac24 quisition—
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1 ‘‘(I) provide the Board written

2 notification of the proposal, and

3 ‘‘(II) publish notice of the pro4 posal in a newspaper of general cir5 culation in the affected communities

6 for the purpose of soliciting comments

7 on performance under the Community

8 Reinvestment Act of 1977.

9 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—Notifi10 cation to the Board under this subpara11 graph must include a description of the

12 proposed activities and the terms of any

13 proposed acquisition.

14 ‘‘(iii) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—The

15 Board shall require an application under

16 paragraph (1) or subsections (c)(8) or

17 (a)(2)(B) for the purpose of reviewing the

18 application pursuant to the Community

19 Reinvestment Act of 1977 if it receives an

20 adverse public comment during the notice

21 period that raises relevant issues, as deter22 mined by the Board, under the Community

23 Reinvestment Act of 1977.’’.

24 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2(o) of the Bank Holding

25 Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1841) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

2 following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(1) CAPITAL TERMS.—

4 ‘‘(A) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITU5 TIONS.—With respect to insured depository in6 stitutions, the terms ‘well capitalized,’ ‘ade7 quately capitalized’ and ‘uncapitalized’ have the

8 meaning given those terms in section 38(b) of

9 the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

10 ‘‘(B) BANK HOLDING COMPANY.—

11 ‘‘(i) ADEQUATELY CAPITALIZED.—

12 The term ‘adequately capitalized’ means a

13 level of capitalization which meets or ex14 ceeds all applicable Federal regulatory cap15 ital standards;

16 ‘‘(ii) WELL CAPITALIZED.—A bank

17 holding company is ‘well capitalized’ if it

18 meets the required capital levels for well

19 capitalized bank holding companies estab20 lished by the Board.

21 ‘‘(C) OTHER CAPITAL TERMS.—The terms

22 ‘Tier 1’ and ‘risk-weighted assets’ have the

23 meaning given those terms in the capital guide24 lines or regulations established by the Board for

25 bank holding companies.’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraphs:

3 ‘‘(8) LEAD INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITU4 TIONS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘lead in6 sured depository institution’ means the largest

7 insured depository institution controlled by the

8 bank holding company at any time, based on a

9 comparison of the average total risk-weighted

10 assets controlled by each insured depository in11 stitution during the previous 12-month period.

12 ‘‘(B) BRANCH OR AGENCY.—For purposes

13 of this paragraph and section 4(j)(4), the term

14 ‘insured depository institution’ shall also in15 clude any branch or agency operated in the

16 United States by a foreign bank.

17 ‘‘(9) WELL MANAGED.—A company or deposi18 tory institution is ‘well managed’ if, at its most re19 cent examination or subsequent review, the company

20 or institution received—

21 ‘‘(A) one of the highest two composite rat22 ings; and

23 ‘‘(B) at least a satisfactory rating for man24 agement, if such rating is given.’’.
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1 SEC. 202. STREAMLINED BANK ACQUISITIONS BY WELL

2 CAPITALIZED AND WELL MANAGED BANKING

3 ORGANIZATIONS.

4 (a) BANK HOLDING COMPANY ACT AMENDMENTS.—

5 Section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C.

6 1842) is amended by adding at the end the following new

7 subsection:

8 ‘‘(h) NO APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN TRANS9 ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a)(3) or (a)(5),

10 an acquisition of shares by a registered bank holding com11 pany, or a merger or consolidation between registered

12 bank holding companies, shall be deemed approved at the

13 conclusion of the period specified in paragraph (7) if the

14 following conditions are met:

15 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL CRITERIA.—

16 ‘‘(A) WELL CAPITALIZED BANK HOLDING

17 COMPANY.—Both at the time of and imme18 diately after the proposed transaction, the ac19 quiring bank holding company is well capital20 ized.

21 ‘‘(B) WELL CAPITALIZED LEAD INSURED

22 DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—Both at the time

23 of and immediately after the proposed trans24 action, the lead insured depository institution of

25 the acquiring bank holding company is well cap26 italized.
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1 ‘‘(C) CAPITAL OF OTHER INSURED DEPOSI2 TORY INSTITUTIONS.—At the time of the trans3 action, well capitalized insured depository insti4 tutions control at least 80 percent of the aggre5 gate total risk-weighted assets of insured depos6 itory institutions controlled by the acquiring

7 bank holding company.

8 ‘‘(D) NO UNDERCAPITALIZED INSURED

9 DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS.—At the time of the

10 transaction, no insured depository institution

11 controlled by the acquiring bank holding com12 pany is undercapitalized.

13 ‘‘(E) WELL MANAGED.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the time of the

15 transaction, the acquiring bank holding

16 company, its lead insured depository insti17 tution, and insured depository institutions

18 that control at least 90 percent of the ag19 gregate total risk-weighted assets of in20 sured depository institutions controlled by

21 such holding company are well managed.

22 ‘‘(ii) NO POORLY MANAGED INSTITU23 TIONS.—

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—No insured

25 depository institution controlled by
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1 the acquiring bank holding company

2 has received one of the lowest two

3 composite ratings at the later of the

4 institution’s most recent examination

5 or subsequent review.

6 ‘‘(II) RECENTLY ACQUIRED IN7 STITUTIONS.—Insured depository in8 stitutions acquired by the bank hold9 ing company within the previous

10 twelve months may be excluded for

11 purposes of subclause (I) if—

12 ‘‘(aa) the bank holding com13 pany has developed a plan ac14 ceptable to the appropriate Fed15 eral banking agency (as defined

16 in section 3 of the Federal De17 posit Insurance Act) for the insti18 tution to restore the capital and

19 management of the institution;

20 and

21 ‘‘(bb) all such insured depos22 itory institutions represent, in

23 the aggregate, less than 10 per24 cent of the aggregate total risk25 weighted assets of all insured de-
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1 pository institutions controlled by

2 the holding company.

3 ‘‘(2) NO UNSATISFACTORY CRA RATINGS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No insured depository

5 institution controlled by the acquiring bank

6 holding company has received a ‘needs to im7 prove’ or ‘substantial noncompliance’ composite

8 rating at its most recent examination under the

9 Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.

10 ‘‘(B) RECENTLY ACQUIRED INSTITU11 TIONS.—Insured depository institutions ac12 quired by such bank holding company within

13 the previous twelve months may be excluded for

14 purposes of subparagraph (A) if the bank hold15 ing company has developed a plan acceptable to

16 the appropriate Federal banking agency (as de17 fined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insur18 ance Act) to restore the performance of the in19 stitution to at least a ‘satisfactory’ rating under

20 the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.

21 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE CRITERIA.—Consummation

22 of the proposal complies with guidelines established

23 by the Board by regulation, after consultation with

24 the Attorney General, that identify proposals that
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1 are not likely to have a significantly adverse effect

2 on competition in any relevant market.

3 ‘‘(4) SIZE OF ACQUISITION.—

4 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON ASSET SIZE.—The

5 book value of the total assets acquired does not

6 exceed 10 percent of the consolidated total risk

7 weighted assets of the acquiring bank holding

8 company.

9 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT TO LIMITATIONS.—The

10 Board may by regulation adjust the limitations

11 established in this paragraph in a manner con12 sistent with safety and soundness and the pur13 poses of this Act.

14 ‘‘(5) INTERSTATE ACQUISITIONS.—Board ap15 proval of the transaction is not prohibited under

16 subsection (d).

17 ‘‘(6) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—Board ap18 proval of the transaction is not prohibited under

19 subsection (c)(3).

20 ‘‘(7) NOTIFICATION.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The acquiring bank

22 holding company publishes notice of the appli23 cation in a newspaper of general circulation in

24 the affected communities and provides the

25 Board and the Attorney General with written
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1 notice of the transaction, including a descrip2 tion of the terms of the transaction, at least

3 30 business days before consummation of the

4 transaction, and, prior to the conclusion of that

5 period, the Board has not required an applica6 tion under subsection (a) and the Attorney

7 General has not objected to the transaction.

8 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—The

9 Board shall have the discretion to require an

10 application under subsection (a) as the Board

11 deems appropriate, except that the Board shall

12 require an application under subsection (a) for

13 the purpose of reviewing the application pursu14 ant to the Community Reinvestment Act of

15 1977 if the Board receives an adverse public

16 comment during the notice period that raises

17 relevant issues, as determined by the Board,

18 under the Community Reinvestment Act of

19 1977.’’

20 SEC. 203. STREAMLINING BANK MERGERS.

21 Section 18(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act

22 (12 U.S.C. 1828(c)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking all that follows

24 after ‘‘report on the competitive factors involved

25 from the Attorney General and’’ and inserting the
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1 following: ‘‘give notice to the other agencies that are

2 referred to in paragraph (2) that such a report has

3 been requested. The responsible agency shall not be

4 required to request a report or give notice with re5 spect to: (A) a merger with an interim institution or6 ganized solely to facilitate a corporate reorganization

7 that does not result in a change in control of an in8 stitution; or (B) a merger transaction involving only

9 insured depository institutions that are subsidiaries

10 of the same depository institution holding company.

11 The Attorney General shall furnish the report within

12 30 calendar days of the date on which it is re13 quested, or within 10 calendar days if the respon14 sible agency advises the Attorney General that an

15 emergency exists requiring expeditious action. If the

16 Attorney General determines that a proposed trans17 action raises a significant competitive issue, the At18 torney General shall provide all agencies defined in

19 paragraph (2) with a copy of the report. Nothing in

20 this subsection shall prohibit an agency that has re21 ceived notice that a report has been requested from

22 the Attorney General from also furnishing a report

23 to the responsible agency within the same time pe24 riod as provided for the Attorney General.’’; and
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1 (2) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the

2 following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(6) The responsible agency shall immediately

4 notify the Attorney General of any approval by it

5 pursuant to this subsection of a proposed merger

6 transaction, provided that such notification shall not

7 be required with respect to a merger involving an in8 terim or affiliated institution as described in sub9 paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4). If a report

10 on the competitive factors is not necessary pursuant

11 to any such subparagraph, or if the agency has

12 found that it must act immediately in order to pre13 vent the probable failure of one of the banks or sav14 ings associations involved and the report has been

15 dispensed with, the transaction may be con16 summated immediately upon approval by the agency.

17 If the agency has advised the Attorney General of

18 the existence of an emergency requiring expeditious

19 action and has requested a report on the competitive

20 factors within 10 days and given notice to the other

21 agencies that a report was requested, the transaction

22 may be consummated after the 5th calendar day

23 after the date of approval by the agency. In all other

24 cases, the transaction may not be consummated be25 fore the 30th calendar day after the date of approval
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1 by the agency, or such shorter period of time as may

2 be prescribed by the agency with the concurrence of

3 the Attorney General, but in no event less than 15

4 calendar days after the date of approval.’’.

5 SEC. 204. ELIMINATE REDUNDANT APPROVAL REQUIRE6 MENT FOR OAKAR TRANSACTIONS.

7 Section 5(d)(3) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act

8 (12 U.S.C. 1815(d)(3)) is amended—

9 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘with the

10 prior written approval of the responsible agency

11 under section 18(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘if the trans12 action is approved under section 18(c)(2) by the re13 sponsible agency (as defined in paragraph (2) of

14 such section)’’;

15 (2) in subparagraph (E)—

16 (A) by striking clause (iv) and inserting

17 the following new clause:

18 ‘‘(iv) A transaction described in this

19 paragraph shall not be approved unless the

20 acquiring, assuming, or resulting deposi21 tory institution will meet all applicable cap22 ital requirements upon consummation of

23 the transaction.’’;

24 (B) by striking clause (ii); and
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1 (C) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv)

2 as clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively; and

3 (3) by striking subparagraph (G) and redesig4 nating the subsequent subparagraphs accordingly.

5 SEC. 205. REGULATION OF HOLDING COMPANIES CON6 TROLLING BANKS AND SAVINGS ASSOCIA7 TIONS.

8 (a) HOME OWNERS’ LOAN ACT.—Section 10 of the

9 Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a) is amended

10 by adding the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(t) COORDINATED AND UNIFIED REQUIREMENTS

12 FOR DUAL HOLDING COMPANIES.—Not later than 1 year

13 after the date of the enactment of the Financial Institu14 tions Regulatory Relief Act of 1995, the Director and the

15 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall

16 jointly issue regulations for coordinating and unifying re17 quirements that are imposed on companies that are sub18 ject both to this section and the Bank Holding Company

19 Act of 1956, consistent with the requirements of existing

20 law, including a system for the coordination of examina21 tions and oversight of companies that are subject to both

22 Acts and a unified application requirement that applies

23 to bank holding company acquisitions of savings associa24 tions.’’.
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1 (b) BANK HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1956.—Sec2 tion 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12

3 U.S.C. 1842) is amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing new subsection:

5 ‘‘(h) COORDINATED AND UNIFIED REQUIREMENTS

6 FOR DUAL HOLDING COMPANIES.—Not later than 1 year

7 after the date of the enactment of the Financial Institu8 tions Regulatory Relief Act of 1995, the Board and the

9 Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision shall jointly

10 issue regulations for coordinating and unifying require11 ments that are imposed on companies that are subject

12 both to this Act and section 10 of the Home Owners’ Loan

13 Act, consistent with the requirements of existing law, in14 cluding a system for the coordination of examinations and

15 oversight of companies that are subject to both Acts and

16 a unified application requirement that applies to bank

17 holding company acquisitions of savings associations.’’.

18 SEC. 206. ELIMINATE REQUIREMENT THAT APPROVAL BE

19 OBTAINED FOR DIVESTITURES.

20 Section 2(g) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12

21 U.S.C. 1841(g)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking paragraph (3);

23 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after paragraph (1); and

24 (3) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph

25 (2) and inserting a period.
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1 SEC. 207. ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY BRANCH APPLICA2 TIONS.

3 (a) NATIONAL BANK BRANCH APPLICATIONS.—Sec4 tion 5155(i) of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 36(i)) is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘No branch’’ and inserting the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(1) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—Except as pro9 vided in paragraph (2), no branch’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new

11 paragraphs:

12 ‘‘(2) NO APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN

13 BRANCHES.—Notwithstanding this subsection or

14 subsection (b) or (c) and subject to paragraph (3),

15 the consent and approval of the Comptroller of the

16 Currency shall not be required for a national bank17 ing association to establish and operate, or to retain

18 and operate, a branch or seasonal agency if—

19 ‘‘(A) the association is well capitalized, as

20 that term is defined in section 38 of the Fed21 eral Deposit Insurance Act and regulations pre22 scribed by the Comptroller of the Currency

23 under such section;

24 ‘‘(B) the association received a composite

25 CAMEL rating of ‘1’ or ‘2’ under the Uniform

26 Financial Institutions Rating System (or an
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1 equivalent rating under a comparable rating

2 system) as of its most recent examination;

3 ‘‘(C) the association did not receive a

4 ‘needs to improve’ or substantial noncompliance

5 composite rating at its most recent examination

6 under the Community Reinvestment Act of

7 1977;

8 ‘‘(D) the association publishes a notice of

9 the proposed branch in a newspaper of general

10 circulation in the affected community, in ac11 cordance with the Comptroller of the Currency’s

12 rules governing the establishment of branches,

13 which shall invite interested parties to submit

14 comments to the Comptroller on the perform15 ance of the association under the Community

16 Reinvestment Act of 1977; and

17 ‘‘(E) the Comptroller of the Currency may

18 grant approval under this section to such asso19 ciation to establish and operate, or to retain

20 and operate, a branch or seasonal agency at the

21 proposed location and the Comptroller does not

22 determine, prior to the expiration of the com23 ment period provided in subparagraph (D), that

24 the association is not meeting the credit needs
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1 of its entire community consistent with the safe

2 and sound operation of such institution.

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (2) shall not

4 apply if the Comptroller receives an adverse public

5 comment during the notice period provided in (2)(D)

6 that raises relevant issues, as determined by the

7 Comptroller, under the Community Reinvestment

8 Act of 1977.

9 ‘‘(4) A branch or seasonal agency established by

10 a national banking association under paragraph (2)

11 shall be deemed to have been established and oper12 ated pursuant to an application approved under this

13 section.’’.

14 (b) STATE MEMBER BANK BRANCH APPLICA15 TIONS.—The 3d undesignated paragraph of section 9 of

16 the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 321) is amended by

17 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the pre18 vious two sentences, the approval of the Board shall not

19 be required for a State member bank to establish and op20 erate a branch or seasonal agency if—

21 ‘‘(A) the State member bank is well cap22 italized, as that term is defined in section 38 of

23 the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and regula24 tions prescribed by the Board under such sec25 tion;
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1 ‘‘(B) the State member bank received a

2 composite CAMEL rating of ‘1’ or ‘2’ under the

3 Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System

4 (or an equivalent rating under a comparable

5 rating system);

6 ‘‘(C) the State member bank did not re7 ceive a ‘needs to improve’ or substantial non8 compliance composite rating at its most recent

9 examination under the Community Reinvest10 ment Act of 1977;

11 ‘‘(D) the State member bank publishes a

12 notice of the proposed branch in a newspaper of

13 general circulation in the affected community,

14 in accordance with the Board’s rules governing

15 the establishment of branches, which shall in16 vite interested parties to submit comments to

17 the Board on the performance of the State

18 member bank under the Community Reinvest19 ment Act of 1977; and

20 ‘‘(E) the Board is authorized to grant ap21 proval under this section to such State member

22 bank to establish and operate a branch or sea23 sonal agency at the proposed location and the

24 Board does not determine, before the expiration

25 of the comment period provided in subpara-
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1 graph (D), that the State member bank is not

2 meeting the credit needs of its entire commu3 nity consistent with its the safe and sound oper4 ation.

5 The preceding sentence shall not apply if the Board

6 receives an adverse public comment during the no7 tice period referred to in subparagraph (D) that

8 raises relevant substantive issues, as determined by

9 the Board, under the Community Reinvestment Act

10 of 1977. A branch or seasonal agency established by

11 a State member bank under the 2d preceding sen12 tence shall be deemed to have been established and

13 operated pursuant to an application approved under

14 this section.’’.

15 (c) STATE NONMEMBER BANK BRANCH APPLICA16 TIONS.—Section 18(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance

17 Act (12 U.S.C. 1828(d)) is amended by adding at the end

18 the following new paragraphs:

19 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN

20 BANKS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the con21 sent of the Corporation shall not be required for a

22 State nonmember insured bank to establish and op23 erate any domestic branch if—

24 ‘‘(A) the bank is well capitalized, as that

25 term is defined in section 38 and regulations
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1 prescribed by the Corporation under such sec2 tion;

3 ‘‘(B) the bank received a composite

4 CAMEL rating of ‘1’ or ‘2’ under the Uniform

5 Financial Institutions Rating System (or an

6 equivalent rating under a comparable rating

7 system) as of its most recent examination;

8 ‘‘(C) the bank did not receive a ‘needs to

9 improve’ or substantial noncompliance compos10 ite rating at its most recent examination under

11 the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977;

12 ‘‘(D) the bank publishes a notice of the

13 proposed branch in a newspaper of general cir14 culation in the affected community, in accord15 ance with the Corporation’s rules governing the

16 establishment of branches, which shall invite in17 terested parties to submit comments to the Cor18 poration on the performance of the bank under

19 the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977; and

20 ‘‘(E) the Corporation is authorized to give

21 consent under this section to such bank to es22 tablish and operate a domestic branch at the

23 proposed location and the Corporation does not

24 determine, prior to the expiration of the com25 ment period provided in subparagraph (D), that
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1 the bank is not meeting the credit needs of its

2 entire community consistent with the safe and

3 sound operation of such institution.

4 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (5) shall not

5 apply if the Corporation receives an adverse public

6 comment during the notice period provided in (5)(D)

7 that raises relevant issues, as determined by the

8 Corporation, under the Community Reinvestment

9 Act of 1977.

10 ‘‘(7) APPROVAL GRANTED.—A branch estab11 lished by a State member bank under paragraph (5)

12 shall be deemed to have been established and oper13 ated pursuant to an application approved under this

14 section.’’.

15 SEC. 208. ELIMINATE BRANCH APPLICATIONS AND RE16 QUIREMENTS FOR ATMs AND SIMILAR FA17 CILITIES.

18 (a) DEFINITION OF BRANCH UNDER NATIONAL

19 BANK ACT.—Section 5155(j) of the Revised Statutes (12

20 U.S.C. 36(j)) is amended by adding at the end the follow21 ing: ‘‘The term ‘branch’ does not include automated teller

22 machines or remote service units.’’.

23 (b) DEFINITION OF BRANCH UNDER FEDERAL DE24 POSIT INSURANCE ACT.—Section 3(o) of the Federal De25 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(o)) is amended by
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1 striking ‘‘lent; and the’’ and inserting ‘‘lent. The term ‘do2 mestic branch’ does not include automated teller machines

3 or remote service units. The’’.

4 SEC. 209. AGENCY WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR OFFICER AND

5 DIRECTOR FILINGS.

6 Section 32(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act

7 (12 U.S.C. 1831i(d)) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any notice submitted to an

10 appropriate Federal banking agency with respect to

11 an individual by any insured depository institution

12 or depository institution holding company pursuant

13 to subsection (a) shall include—

14 ‘‘(A) the information described in section

15 7(j)(6)(A) about the individual; and

16 ‘‘(B) such other information as the agency

17 may prescribe by regulation.

18 ‘‘(2) WAIVER ON CASE BY CASE BASIS.—An ap19 propriate Federal banking agency may waive the re20 quirement of this subsection with respect to informa21 tion described in paragraph (1) on a case-by-case

22 basis.’’.
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1 SEC. 210. ELIMINATE THE PER-BRANCH CAPITAL REQUIRE2 MENT FOR NATIONAL BANKS AND STATE

3 MEMBER BANKS.

4 Section 5155 of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 36)

5 is amended by striking subsection (h).

6 SEC. 211. EXPANDED REGULATORY DISCRETION FOR

7 SMALL BANK EXAMINATIONS.

8 Section 10(d)(8) of the Federal Deposit Insurance

9 Act (12 U.S.C. 1820(d)(8)) is amended by striking

10 ‘‘$175,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$250,000,000’’.

11 SEC. 212. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN NONBANK FINAN12 CIAL INSTITUTION CUSTOMERS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5327(a)(1) of title 31,

14 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(1) is a financial institution (other than a for16 eign bank (as defined in section 101(b) of the Inter17 national Banking Act of 1978)) which is a foreign

18 person; and’’.

19 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

20 The heading for section 5327 of title 31, United States

21 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘FOREIGN NONBANK’’

22 after ‘‘OF’’.

23 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

24 for chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended
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1 by striking the item relating to section 5327 and inserting

2 the following new item:

‘‘5327. Identification of foreign nonbank financial institutions.’’.

3 SEC. 213. REQUIRED REGULATORY REVIEW OF REGULA4 TIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Financial Institutions Exam6 ination Council, each appropriate Federal banking agency,

7 and the National Credit Union Administration Board

8 shall, within every 10-year period, conduct a review of all

9 of the regulations issued pursuant to the Council’s author10 ity or the authority of any such agency or the Board to

11 identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulatory re12 quirements imposed upon insured depository institutions.

13 (b) PROCESS.—In conducting the review required

14 under subsection (a), the Council, each appropriate Fed15 eral banking agency, and the National Credit Union Ad16 ministration Board shall—

17 (1) categorize such regulations by type (such as

18 consumer regulations, safety and soundness regula19 tions, or such other designation as determined by

20 the Council); and

21 (2) at regular intervals, provide notice and so22 licit public comment on a particular category or cat23 egories of regulations, requesting commentators to

24 identify areas of such regulations considered out25 dated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome.
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1 The Council, each appropriate Federal banking agency,

2 and the National Credit Union Administration Board

3 shall, over a 10-year period, ensure that all categories of

4 regulations have been set out for notice and comment.

5 (c) REGULATORY RESPONSE.—The Council, the ap6 propriate Federal banking agency, or the National Credit

7 Union Administration Board shall—

8 (1) publish in the Federal Register a summary

9 of the comments received pursuant to this section,

10 identifying significant issues raised and providing

11 comment on such issues; and

12 (2) eliminate unnecessary regulations wherever

13 appropriate.

14 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Council shall, with15 in 30 days of publishing the summary required under sub16 section (c)(1), provide a report to the Congress summariz17 ing any significant issues raised during such comment pe18 riod, the relative merits of such issues, and whether the

19 appropriate Federal banking agency involved can address

20 the regulatory burdens associated with such issues by reg21 ulation, or whether such concerns can only be addressed

22 by legislation.

23 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

24 terms ‘‘insured depository institution’’ and ‘‘appropriate
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1 Federal banking agency’’ have the same meanings as in

2 section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

3 SEC. 214. FOREIGN BANK APPLICATIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(d) of the International

5 Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3105(d)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in7 serting the following new paragraphs:

8 ‘‘(1) PRIOR REVIEW REQUIRED.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the appropriate

10 State Bank supervisor or the Comptroller of the

11 Currency has approved an application of a for12 eign bank to establish a branch or an agency,

13 or acquire ownership or control of a commercial

14 lending company, the application shall be re15 viewed by the Board for a period of not more

16 than 60 days.

17 ‘‘(B) REFERRAL TO THE BOARD.—Upon

18 receiving an application of a foreign bank to es19 tablish a State branch or State agency or com20 mercial lending company, the appropriate State

21 bank supervisor shall forward a copy of the ap22 plication to the Board for review.

23 ‘‘(C) REQUIRED STANDARDS FOR AP24 PROVAL.—Except as provided by subparagraphs

25 (D) and (E), the Board may not approve or
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1 recommend approval of an application of a for2 eign bank unless it determines that—

3 ‘‘(i) the foreign bank engages directly

4 in the business of banking outside the

5 United States and is subject to comprehen6 sive supervision or regulation on a consoli7 dated basis by the appropriate authorities

8 in its home country; and

9 ‘‘(ii) the foreign bank has furnished to

10 the Board the information it needs to ade11 quately assess the application.

12 ‘‘(D) LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR FOREIGN

13 BANKS NOT SUBJECT TO COMPREHENSIVE SU14 PERVISION.—The Board, in its discretion, may

15 approve or recommend approval of an applica16 tion of a foreign bank that the Board deter17 mines is not subject to comprehensive super18 vision or regulation on a consolidated basis if—

19 ‘‘(i) the foreign bank engages directly

20 in the business of banking outside the

21 United States and has, as of the date of

22 the application, established and operated a

23 branch, agency, or commercial lending

24 company in the United States that is not

25 the subject of an ongoing enforcement ac-
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1 tion by any State or Federal bank regu2 latory agency;

3 ‘‘(ii) the Board determines that the

4 foreign bank will make adequate financial

5 resources available to support the proposed

6 operation of the applicant; and

7 ‘‘(iii) the Board determines that the

8 foreign bank is subject to substantial su9 pervision or regulation on a consolidated

10 basis by the appropriate authorities in its

11 home country, and continues to make de12 monstrable progress toward establishing

13 arrangements for comprehensive super14 vision or regulation of its banks on a con15 solidated basis.

16 ‘‘(E) EXEMPTION.—The Board, in its dis17 cretion, may approve or recommend approval of

18 an application without applying the criteria in

19 subparagraph (C)(i) which requires the Board

20 to determine that the foreign bank application

21 is subject to comprehensive supervision or regu22 lation on a consolidated basis if—

23 ‘‘(i) the Board has previously ap24 proved or recommended approval of an ap25 plication of a foreign bank that is from the
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•HR 2158 IH

1 same country and is of the same class of

2 banking entities as the current applicant;

3 and

4 ‘‘(ii) at the time it approved or rec5 ommended approval of the previous appli6 cation, the Board made the determination

7 required in subparagraph (C)(i).

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD.—

9 ‘‘(A) DECISION ON APPLICATION.—Based

10 on its review of an application submitted to it

11 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the Board

12 may—

13 ‘‘(i) with respect to an application

14 submitted to it for review by the appro15 priate State bank supervisor, confirm the

16 approval of or deny the application; or

17 ‘‘(ii) with respect to an application

18 submitted to it for review by the Comptrol19 ler of the Currency, recommend to the

20 Comptroller that the approval be confirmed

21 or denied.

22 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF REVIEW PERIOD.—

23 The Board is authorized to extend the review

24 period provided in paragraph (1)(A) for an ad25 ditional 60 days after providing notice of and
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1 the reasons for the extension to the applicant

2 and any appropriate State bank supervisor or

3 the Comptroller of the Currency.

4 ‘‘(C) REASONS FOR DISAPPROVAL.—If the

5 Board denies an application or recommends

6 that an application be denied, the Board shall

7 provide an explanation of its reasons to the ap8 propriate State bank supervisor or the Comp9 troller of the Currency, as appropriate.’’.

10 (b) REGULATORY SIMPLIFICATION.—Section 4 of the

11 International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3102) is

12 amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a)—

14 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as

15 follows:

16 ‘‘(2) REVIEW BY THE BOARD.—Upon receipt of

17 an application for approval under this subsection,

18 the Comptroller shall forward the application to the

19 Board for its review in accordance with section

20 7(d).’’; and

21 (B) by adding at the end the following new

22 paragraph:

23 ‘‘(3) BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRED TO

24 BE CONSIDERED.—In considering an application for

25 approval under this subsection, the Comptroller of
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1 the Currency shall consider any recommendation

2 made by the Board under section 7(d).’’;

3 (2) in subsection (c)—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘(c) In acting on any appli5 cation’’ and inserting ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL FAC6 TORS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In acting on any applica8 tion’’; and

9 (B) by adding at the end the following new

10 paragraph:

11 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—In act12 ing on any application to establish a Fed13 eral branch or agency, the Comptroller also

14 shall apply the standards that the Board

15 applies under section 7(d).’; and

16 (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the

17 following new subsection:

18 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

20 provisions of this section, a foreign bank shall not

21 receive deposits from citizens or residents of the

22 United States or exercise fiduciary powers at any

23 Federal agency.

24 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—A foreign bank may main25 tain at a Federal agency for the account of others
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1 credit balances incidental to, or arising out of, the

2 exercise of its lawful powers.’’.

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7(d)(5) of

4 the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C.

5 3105(d)) is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(5) ESTABLISHMENT OR RECOMMENDATION

7 OF CONDITIONS.—Consistent with the standards in

8 this section for the approval or recommendations of

9 the Board, the Board may—

10 ‘‘(A) with respect to an application submit11 ted to the Board for review by the appropriate

12 State bank supervisor, impose any conditions on

13 its approval that the Board considers to be nec14 essary; and

15 ‘‘(B) with respect to an application submit16 ted to the Board for review by the Comptroller

17 of the Currency, recommend to the Comptroller

18 that any condition considered to be necessary

19 by the Board be imposed as a condition of the

20 Comptroller’s approval.’’.

21 SEC. 215. DUPLICATE EXAMINATION OF FOREIGN BANKS.

22 Section 7(c)(1) of the International Banking Act of

23 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3105(b)(1)) is amended by striking sub24 paragraphs (B) and (C) and inserting the following new

25 subparagraphs:
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1 ‘‘(B) RELIANCE ON PRIMARY SUPER2 VISOR.—In order to avoid unnecessary duplica3 tion and cost, the Board shall, to the extent

4 practicable, rely upon the reports of examina5 tions made by the Comptroller, the Federal De6 posit Insurance Corporation, or the appropriate

7 State bank supervisor in achieving the purposes

8 of this subsection.’’

9 ‘‘(C) ON-SITE EXAMINATION.—Each

10 branch or agency of a foreign bank shall be

11 subject to on-site examination on the same

12 schedule that a comparable national or State

13 nonmember bank would be examined by the

14 Comptroller of the Currency or the Federal De15 posit Insurance Corporation.’’.

16 SEC. 216. AMENDMENTS TO THE DEPOSITORY INSTITU17 TIONS MANAGEMENT INTERLOCKS ACT.

18 (a) DUAL SERVICE OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL AND AC19 COUNTANTS ON BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROHIBITED.—

20 The Depository Institution Management Interlocks Act

21 (12 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

22 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 211. DUAL SERVICE OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL AND AC2 COUNTANTS ON BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRO3 HIBITED.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No individual who is an outside

5 counsel or outside accountant of a depository institution

6 or a depository holding company may serve as a member

7 of board of directors of that depository institution or de8 pository holding company or of any affiliate of any such

9 institution or company.

10 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR SMALL INSTITUTIONS.—This

11 section shall not apply with respect to any depository insti12 tution the total assets of which do not exceed

13 $250,000,000.’’.

14 (b) OWNERSHIP DISCLOSURES TO BOARD OF DIREC15 TORS.—The Depository Institution Management Inter16 locks Act (12 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.) is amended by inserting

17 after section 211 (as added by subsection (a) of this sec18 tion) the following new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 212. OWNERSHIP DISCLOSURES TO BOARD OF DIREC20 TORS.

21 ‘‘Not less than once each calendar year, each deposi22 tory institution and depository holding company shall pro23 vide to each member of its board of directors, and to each

24 member of the board of directors of any depository institu25 tion or depository holding company it controls, a list of

26 the names and principal places of business of each individ-
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1 ual or company which directly or indirectly owns, controls,

2 or has power to vote 5 percent or more of any class of

3 voting securities of the depository institution or depository

4 holding company, and such other information as the ap5 propriate Federal depository institutions regulatory agen6 cy shall prescribe by regulation.’’.

7 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONTROL BY OUTSIDE DI8 RECTORS.—The Depository Institution Management

9 Interlocks Act (12 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.) is amended by

10 inserting after section 212 (as added by subsection (b) of

11 this section) the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 213. BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONTROL BY OUTSIDE DI13 RECTORS.

14 ‘‘A majority of the voting members of the board of

15 directors of each depository institution and each deposi16 tory holding company shall be outside directors.’’.

17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—Section 202 of the Depository In18 stitution Management Interlocks Act (12 U.S.C. 3201) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’;

21 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and

22 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new

24 paragraphs:
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1 ‘‘(7) the term ‘outside counsel’ means any indi2 vidual who is not a full time employee of the deposi3 tory institution or depository holding company and

4 who receives compensation, either directly or

5 through a law firm, partnership, or corporation, for

6 legal services or advice rendered to the depository in7 stitution or depository holding company or any of its

8 subsidiaries, affiliates, or holding companies;

9 ‘‘(8) the term ‘outside accountant’ means any

10 individual who is not a full time employee of the de11 pository institution or depository holding company

12 and who receives compensation, either directly or

13 through an accounting firm, partnership, or corpora14 tion, for accounting services or advice rendered to

15 the depository institution or any of its subsidiaries,

16 affiliates, or holding companies;

17 ‘‘(9) the term ‘outside director’ means an indi18 vidual who is a member of the board of directors

19 who is not an employee or officer with management

20 functions of either the depository institution or de21 pository holding company, or any of its subsidiaries,

22 affiliates, or holding companies; and

23 ‘‘(10) the term ‘control’ has the meaning given

24 to such term in section 2 of the Bank Holding Com25 pany Act of 1956, for bank holding companies and
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1 section 10(a)(2) of the Home Owners’ Loan Act for

2 savings and loan holding companies.’’.

3 SEC. 217. ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER FEE DISCLOSURES

4 AT ELECTRONIC TERMINALS.

5 Section 904 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15

6 U.S.C. 1693b) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) In the event’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO SERVICE PROVIDERS

9 OTHER THAN CERTAIN FINANCIAL INSTITU10 TIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event’’; and

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new

13 paragraphs:

14 ‘‘(2) FEE DISCLOSURES AT ELECTRONIC TERMI15 NALS.—The regulations prescribed under paragraph

16 (1) shall require any person who operates an elec17 tronic terminal at which electronic fund transfer

18 services are made available to any consumer to pro19 vide notice to the consumer (at the time the service

20 is provided at any such terminal) of the amount of

21 any fee imposed by such person for providing the

22 service.’’.
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1 SEC. 218. BRANCH CLOSURES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 42 of the Federal Deposit

3 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831r-1) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(e) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not apply

7 with respect to—

8 ‘‘(A) an automated teller machine;

9 ‘‘(B) a branch which—

10 ‘‘(i) has been acquired through merg11 er, consolidation, purchase, assumption, or

12 other method; and

13 ‘‘(ii) is located—

14 ‘‘(I) within 2.5 miles of another

15 branch of the acquiring institution; or

16 ‘‘(II) within a neighborhood cur17 rently being served by another branch

18 of the acquiring institution,

19 if such other branch of the acquiring institution

20 is expected to continue to provide banking serv21 ices to substantially all of the customers cur22 rently served by the branch acquired;

23 ‘‘(C) a branch which is closing and reopen24 ing at a location which is—

25 ‘‘(i) within 2.5 miles of the location of

26 the branch being closed; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) within the same neighborhood as

2 the branch being closed,

3 if the branch at the new location is expected to

4 continue to provide banking services to substan5 tially all of the customers served by the branch

6 at the former location;

7 ‘‘(D) a branch that is closed in connection

8 with—

9 ‘‘(i) an emergency acquisition under—

10 ‘‘(I) section 11(n); or

11 ‘‘(II) subsections (f) or (k) of

12 section 13; or

13 ‘‘(ii) any assistance provided by the

14 Corporation under section 13(c); and

15 ‘‘(E) any other branch closure whose ex16 emption from the notice requirements of this

17 section would not produce a result inconsistent

18 with the purposes of this section.

19 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The appropriate Federal

20 banking agency shall, by regulation, determine the

21 circumstances under which any exemption under

22 paragraph(1)(E) may be granted.’’.

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

24 subsection (a) shall apply as if such amendment had been

25 included in section 42 of the Federal Deposit Insurance
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1 Act as of the date of the enactment of the Federal Deposit

2 Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991.

3 SEC. 219. ANNUAL STUDY AND REPORT.

4 Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Board of

6 Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Director of

7 the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Comptroller of the

8 Currency, and the Board of Directors of the Federal De9 posit Insurance Corporation shall jointly conduct a study

10 and submit to the Congress a report on the extent to

11 which this Act and the amendments made by this Act

12 have, through reductions in regulatory burdens, resulted

13 in increased lending to small businesses.

14 TITLE III—LENDER LIABILITY

15 SEC. 301. LENDER LIABILITY.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Deposit Insurance

17 Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) is amended by adding after

18 section 44, the following new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 45. LENDER, FIDUCIARY AND GOVERNMENT AGENCY

20 ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES.

21 ‘‘(a) LENDER ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— Notwithstanding any other

23 provision or rule of Federal law, no lender, acting as

24 defined in this section, shall be liable pursuant to a
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1 Federal environmental law, except as provided in

2 this section.

3 ‘‘(2) ACTUAL PARTICIPATION REQUIRED.—A

4 lender shall only be liable pursuant to a Federal en5 vironmental law when the lender actually partici6 pates in management of another person’s activities

7 which create liability under the same Federal envi8 ronmental law.

9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—The following definitions

10 shall apply for purposes of this section—

11 ‘‘(A) the term ‘participate in management’

12 means actually participating in the management

13 or operational affairs of other persons’ activi14 ties, and does not include merely having the ca15 pacity to influence, or the unexercised right to

16 control such activities;

17 ‘‘(B) a person shall be considered to ‘par18 ticipate in management’ while a borrower is still

19 in possession of property, only if such person—

20 ‘‘(i) exercises decision-making control

21 over the environmental compliance of a

22 borrower, such that the person has under23 taken responsibility for the hazardous sub24 stance handling or disposal practices of the

25 borrower; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) exercises control at a level com2 parable to that of a manager of the enter3 prise of the borrower, such that the person

4 has assumed or manifested responsibility

5 for the overall management of the enter6 prise encompassing day-to-day decision7 making with respect to environmental com8 pliance, or with respect to substantially all

9 of the operational aspects (as distinguished

10 from financial or administrative aspects) of

11 the enterprise, other than environmental

12 compliance;

13 ‘‘(C) the term ‘participate in management’

14 does not include engaging in an act or failing

15 to act before the time that an extension of cred16 it is made or a security interest is created in

17 property; and

18 ‘‘(D) the term ‘participate in management’

19 does not include, unless such actions rise to the

20 level of participating in management (as de21 fined in subparagraphs (A) and (B))—

22 ‘‘(i) holding an extension of credit or

23 a security interest or abandoning or releas24 ing an extension of credit or a security in25 terest;
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1 ‘‘(ii) including in the terms of an ex2 tension of credit, or in a contract or secu3 rity agreement relating to such an exten4 sion, covenants, warranties, or other terms

5 and conditions that relate to environmental

6 compliance;

7 ‘‘(iii) monitoring or enforcing the

8 terms and conditions of an extension of

9 credit or security interest;

10 ‘‘(iv) monitoring or undertaking 1 or

11 more inspections of property, except that

12 monitoring or undertaking any such in13 spection, although not required by this

14 subsection, shall provide probative evidence

15 that a holder of a security interest is act16 ing to preserve and protect the property

17 during the time the holder may have pos18 session or control of such property;

19 ‘‘(v) requiring or conducting a re20 sponse action or other lawful means of ad21 dressing the release or threatened release

22 of a hazardous substance in connection

23 with property prior to, during, or upon the

24 expiration of the term of an extension of

25 credit;
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1 ‘‘(vi) providing financial or other ad2 vice or counseling in an effort to mitigate,

3 prevent, or cure default or diminution in

4 the value of the property;

5 ‘‘(vii) restructuring, renegotiating, or

6 otherwise agreeing to alter the terms and

7 conditions of an extension of credit or se8 curity interest, or exercising forbearance;

9 or

10 ‘‘(viii) exercising other remedies that

11 may be available under applicable law for

12 the breach of any term or condition of the

13 extension of credit or security agreement.

14 ‘‘(E) When a lender did not participate in

15 management of property prior to foreclosure,

16 then the lender shall not be liable even if such

17 person forecloses on property, sells, releases, or

18 liquidates property, maintains business activi19 ties, winds up operations, or undertakes any re20 sponse action with respect to property, or takes

21 other measures to preserve, protect, or prepare

22 property prior to sale or disposition, if—

23 ‘‘(i) such person seeks to sell, release,

24 or otherwise divest the property at the ear25 liest practical, commercially reasonable
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1 time, on commercially reasonable terms,

2 taking into account market conditions and

3 legal and regulatory requirements; and

4 ‘‘(ii) such person preserves the prop5 erty until such sale, release, or divestiture.

6 ‘‘(4) A lender shall be liable for the cost of any

7 response action or corrective action only to the ex8 tent that the action required is directly attributable

9 to the lender’s activities. A lender shall not be liable

10 for the cost of any response action or corrective ac11 tion relating to the release of a hazardous substance

12 which commences before, and continues after the

13 lender’s involvement.

14 ‘‘(5) No provision of this subsection shall be

15 construed as exempting from liability any lender

16 whose intentional act or omission causes the release

17 of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant,

18 or the violation of any environmental law. The liabil19 ity of any lender that is liable under any federal en20 vironmental law shall be limited to the unpaid bal21 ance of any outstanding extension of credit related

22 to the property or activities forming the basis for the

23 liability.

24 ‘‘(b) FIDUCIARY ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— Notwithstanding any other

2 provision or rule of Federal law, no fiduciary, acting

3 as defined in this section, shall be liable pursuant to

4 any Federal environmental law, except as provided

5 in this section.

6 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY OF FIDUCIARY.—

7 ‘‘(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and

8 (C), a fiduciary holding title to property or oth9 erwise affiliated with property solely in a fidu10 ciary capacity shall be personally subject to the

11 obligations and liabilities of any person under

12 any Federal environmental law, to the same ex13 tent as if the property were held by the fidu14 ciary free of trust.

15 ‘‘(B) The personal obligations and liabil16 ities of a fiduciary referred to in subparagraph

17 (A) shall be limited to the extent to which the

18 assets of the trust or estate are sufficient to in19 demnify the fiduciary, unless—

20 ‘‘(i) the obligations and liabilities

21 would have arisen even if the person had

22 not served as a fiduciary;

23 ‘‘(ii) the fiduciary’s own failure to ex24 ercise due care with respect to property

25 caused or contributed to the release of haz-
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1 ardous substances following establishment

2 of the trust, estate, or fiduciary relation3 ship; or

4 ‘‘(iii) the fiduciary had a role in estab5 lishing the trust, estate, or fiduciary rela6 tionship, and such trust, estate, or fidu7 ciary relationship has no objectively rea8 sonable or substantial purpose apart from

9 the avoidance or limitation of liability

10 under an environmental law.

11 ‘‘(C) A fiduciary shall not be personally

12 liable for undertaking or directing another to

13 undertake a response action.

14 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision

15 of this subsection shall be construed as affecting the

16 liability, if any, of any person who—

17 ‘‘(A)(i) acts in a capacity other than a fi18 duciary capacity; and

19 ‘‘(ii) directly or indirectly benefits from a

20 trust or fiduciary relationship; or

21 ‘‘(B)(i) is a beneficiary and a fiduciary

22 with respect to the same fiduciary estate; and

23 ‘‘(ii) as a fiduciary, receives benefits that

24 exceed customary or reasonable compensation,
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1 and incidental benefits, permitted under other

2 applicable laws.

3 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of subsections (a)

4 and (b):

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal environmental law’

6 means any Federal statute or rule of common law

7 with the purpose of protection of the environment

8 and any Federal regulation promulgated thereunder

9 and any State statute or regulation created as a fed10 erally approved or delegated program implementing

11 these laws, including the following:

12 ‘‘(A) The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,

13 and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.).

14 ‘‘(B) The Toxic Substances Control Act

15 (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).

16 ‘‘(C) The Federal Water Pollution Control

17 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).

18 ‘‘(D) The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).

20 ‘‘(E) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401

21 et seq.).

22 ‘‘(F) The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

23 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
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1 ‘‘(G) The Comprehensive Environmental

2 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of

3 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).

4 ‘‘(H) The Pollution Prevention Act of

5 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13101 et seq.).

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘extension of credit’ means the

7 making or renewal of any loan, a granting of a line

8 of credit or extending credit in any manner, such as

9 an advance by means of an overdraft or the issuance

10 of a standby letter of credit, and a lease finance

11 transaction—

12 ‘‘(A) in which the lessor does not initially

13 select the leased property and does not, during

14 the lease term, control the daily operation or

15 maintenance of the property; or

16 ‘‘(B) that conforms with regulations issued

17 by the appropriate Federal banking agency or

18 the appropriate State bank supervisory (as

19 these terms are defined in section 3 of the Fed20 eral Deposit Insurance Act or with regulations

21 issued by the National Credit Union Adminis22 tration Board, as appropriate.

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘fiduciary’ means a person who

24 acts for the exclusive benefit of another person as a

25 bona fide fiduciary within the meaning of section
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1 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security

2 Act of 1974, trustee, executor, administrator, custo3 dian, guardian, conservator, receiver, committee of

4 estates of lunatics or other disabled persons, or per5 sonal representative; except, that the term ‘fiduciary’

6 does not include any person—

7 ‘‘(A) who owns, or controls, is affiliated

8 with or takes any action with respect to prop9 erty on behalf of or for the benefit of a lender

10 or takes any action to protect a lender’s exten11 sion of credit or security interest (any such per12 son shall be treated as a lender under sub13 section (a) of this section); or

14 ‘‘(B) who is acting as a fiduciary with re15 spect to a trust or other fiduciary estate that—

16 ‘‘(i) was not created as part of, or to

17 facilitate, one or more estate plans or pur18 suant to the incapacity of a natural per19 son; and

20 ‘‘(ii) was organized for the primary

21 purpose of, or is engaged in, actively carry22 ing on a trade or business for profit.

23 ‘‘(4) The term ‘financial or administrative as24 pect’ means a function such as a credit manager, ac25 counts payable officer, accounts receivable officer,
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1 personnel manager, comptroller, or chief financial of2 ficer, or any similar function.

3 ‘‘(5) The terms ‘foreclosure’ and ‘foreclose’

4 means, respectively, acquiring, and to acquire, prop5 erty through—

6 ‘‘(A) purchase at sale under a judgment or

7 decree, a power of sale, a nonjudicial fore8 closure sale, or from a trustee, deed in lieu of

9 foreclosure, or similar conveyance, or through

10 repossession, if such property was security for

11 an extension of credit previously contracted;

12 ‘‘(B) conveyance pursuant to an extension

13 of credit previously contracted, including the

14 termination of a lease agreement; or

15 ‘‘(C) any other formal or informal manner

16 by which the person acquires, for subsequent

17 disposition, possession of collateral in order to

18 protect the security interest of the person.

19 ‘‘(6) The term ‘hazardous substance’ means any

20 chemical, biological, organic, inorganic, or radio21 active pollutants, contaminants, materials, waste or

22 other substances regulated under, defined, listed or

23 included in any Federal environmental law.

24 ‘‘(7) The term ‘lender’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) a person that makes a bona fide ex2 tension of credit to or takes a security interest

3 from another person and includes a successor

4 or assign of the person which makes the exten5 sion of credit or takes the security interest;

6 ‘‘(B) the Federal National Mortgage Asso7 ciation, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Cor8 poration, the Federal Agricultural Mortgage

9 Corporation, or other entity that in a bona fide

10 manner is engaged in the business of buying or

11 selling loans on interests therein;

12 ‘‘(C) any person engaged in the business of

13 insuring or guaranteeing against a default in

14 the repayment of an extension of credit, or act15 ing as a surety with respect to an extension of

16 credit, to other persons; or

17 ‘‘(D) any person regularly engaged in the

18 business of providing title insurance who ac19 quires property as a result of assignment or

20 conveyance in the course of underwriting claims

21 and claims settlement.

22 ‘‘(8) The term ‘operational aspect’ means a

23 function such as a facility or plant manager, oper24 ations manager, chief operating officer, or chief ex25 ecutive officer.
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1 ‘‘(9) The term ‘person’ means an individual,

2 firm, corporation, association, partnership, consor3 tium, joint venture, commercial entity, United States

4 Government, State, municipality, commission, politi5 cal subdivision of a State, or any interstate body.

6 ‘‘(10) The term ‘property’ means real, personal

7 and mixed property.

8 ‘‘(11) The term ‘response action’ shall have the

9 same meaning as that term is defined in section 101

10 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

11 Compensation and Liability Act.

12 ‘‘(12) The term ‘security interest’ means a

13 right under a mortgage, deed of trust, assignment,

14 judgment lien, pledge, security agreement, factoring

15 agreement, or lease, or any other right accruing to

16 a person to secure the repayment of money, the per17 formance of a duty, or some other obligation.

18 ‘‘(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in subsections (a),

19 (b), or (c), shall—

20 ‘‘(1) affect the rights or immunities or other de21 fenses that are already available to lenders or fidu22 ciaries under any Federal environmental law;

23 ‘‘(2) be construed to create any liability for any

24 lender or fiduciary; or
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1 ‘‘(3) create a private right of action against any

2 lender or fiduciary.

3 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL BANKING AND LENDING AGENCY EN4 VIRONMENTAL LIABILITY.—

5 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.—

6 ‘‘(A) BANKING AND LENDING AGENCIES.—

7 Except as provided in paragraph (C), a Federal

8 banking or lending agency shall not be liable

9 under any law imposing strict liability for the

10 release or threatened release of petroleum or a

11 hazardous substance at or from property (in12 cluding any right or interest therein) ac13 quired—

14 ‘‘(i) in connection with the exercise of

15 receivership or conservatorship authority,

16 or the liquidation or winding up of the af17 fairs of an insured depository institution,

18 including any of its subsidiaries, and

19 bridge bank;

20 ‘‘(ii) in connection with the provision

21 of loans, discounts, advances, guarantees,

22 insurance or other financial assistance; or

23 ‘‘(iii) in connection with property re24 ceived in any civil or criminal proceeding,
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1 or administrative enforcement action,

2 whether by settlement or order.

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION OF STATE LAW.—Noth4 ing in paragraph (e) shall be construed as pre5 empting, affecting, applying to, or modifying

6 any State law, or any rights, actions, cause of

7 action, or obligations under State law, except

8 that liability under State law shall not exceed

9 the value of the agency’s interest in the asset

10 giving rise to such liability. Nothing in this sec11 tion shall be construed to prevent a Federal

12 banking or lending agency from agreeing with

13 a State to transfer property to such State in

14 lieu of any liability that might otherwise be im15 posed under State law.

16 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding para17 graph (A), and subject to section 107(d) of the

18 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com19 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980, a Federal

20 banking or lending agency that directly caused

21 or materially contributed to the release of pe22 troleum or a hazardous substance may be liable

23 for removal, remedial, or other response action

24 pertaining to that release.
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1 ‘‘(D) SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER.—The im2 munity provided by paragraphs (A) and (B)

3 shall extend to the first subsequent purchaser

4 of property described in such paragraph from a

5 Federal banking or lending agency, unless such

6 purchaser—

7 ‘‘(i) would otherwise be liable or po8 tentially liable for all or part of the costs

9 of the removal, remedial, or other response

10 action due to a prior relationship with the

11 property;

12 ‘‘(ii) is or was affiliated with or relat13 ed to a party described in subparagraph

14 (i);

15 ‘‘(iii) fails to agree to take reasonable

16 steps necessary to abate the release or

17 threatened release or to protect public

18 health and safety in a manner consistent

19 with the purposes of applicable Federal en20 vironmental laws; or

21 ‘‘(iv) directly causes or significantly

22 and materially contributes to any addi23 tional release or threatened release on the

24 property.
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1 ‘‘(E) FEDERAL OR STATE ACTION.—Not2 withstanding subparagraph (D), if a Federal

3 agency or State environmental agency is re4 quired to take remedial action due to the failure

5 of a subsequent purchaser to carry out, in good

6 faith, the agreement described in subparagraph

7 (D)(iii), such subsequent purchaser shall reim8 burse the Federal or State environmental agen9 cy for the costs of such remedial action. Any

10 such reimbursement shall not exceed the in11 crease in the fair market value of the property

12 attributable to the remedial action.

13 ‘‘(2) LIEN EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding any

14 other provision of law, any property held by a subse15 quent purchaser referred to in paragraph (1)(D) or

16 held by a Federal banking or lending agency shall

17 not be subject to any lien for costs or damages asso18 ciated with the release or threatened release of pe19 troleum or a hazardous substance existing at the

20 time of the transfer.

21 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION FROM COVENANTS TO REME22 DIATE.—A Federal banking or lending agency shall

23 be exempt from any law requiring such agency to

24 grant covenants warranting that a removal, reme25 dial, or other response action has been, or will in the
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1 future be, taken with respect to property acquired in

2 the manner described in paragraph (e)(1)(A).

3 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of subsection

4 (e), the following definitions shall apply:

5 ‘‘(A) The term ‘Federal banking or lending

6 agency’ means the Corporation, the Resolution

7 Trust Corporation, the Board of Governors of

8 the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of

9 the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision,

10 a Federal Reserve Bank, a Federal Home Loan

11 Bank, the Department of Housing and Urban

12 Development, the National Credit Union Ad13 ministration Board, the Farm Credit Adminis14 tration, the Farm Credit System Insurance

15 Corporation, the Farm Credit System Assist16 ance Board, the Farmers Home Administration,

17 the Rural Electrification Administration, the

18 Small Business Administration, and any other

19 Federal agency acting in a similar capacity, in

20 any of their capacities, and their agents or ap21 pointees.

22 ‘‘(B) The term ‘hazardous substance’ has

23 the same meaning as in section 101(14) of the

24 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com25 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980.
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1 ‘‘(C) The term ‘release’ has the same

2 meaning as in section 101(22) of the Com3 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa4 tion, and Liability Act of 1980, and includes

5 the use, storage, disposal, treatment, genera6 tion, or transportation of a hazardous sub7 stance.

8 ‘‘(5) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in subsection

9 (e) shall—

10 ‘‘(A) affect the rights or immunities or

11 other defenses that are available under this Act

12 or other applicable law to any party, subject to

13 the provisions of this section;

14 ‘‘(B) be construed to create any liability

15 for any party; or

16 ‘‘(C) create a private right of action

17 against an insured depository institution or

18 lender or against a Federal banking or lending

19 agency.’’.

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

21 upon the date of enactment and shall apply to any claim

22 against any lender, fiduciary or government agency under

23 any Federal environmental law that has not been finally

24 resolved by adjudication or settlement prior to enactment.

Æ
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