I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1285 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish an 

Office for Under-Banked, Un-Banked, and Underserved Consumers, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 

to establish an Office for Under-Banked, Un-Banked, 

and Underserved Consumers, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Improving Access to 

5 Traditional Banking Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OFFICE FOR UNDER-BANKED, UN-BANKED, AND UN2 DERSERVED CONSUMERS. 

3 Section 1013 of the Consumer Financial Protection 

4 Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) OFFICE FOR UNDER-BANKED, UN-BANKED, 

7 AND UNDERSERVED CONSUMERS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Before the end of the 

9 90-day period beginning on the date of the enact10 ment of the subsection, the Bureau shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) establish an Office for Under12 Banked, Un-Banked, and Underserved Con13 sumers (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Office’), 

14 the functions of which shall include activities 

15 designed to better assess the reasons for the 

16 lack of, and help increase the participation of, 

17 under-banked, un-banked, and underserved con18 sumers in the banking system; and 

19 ‘‘(B) lead coordination between the appro20 priate Federal banking agencies, the National 

21 Credit Union Administration, and State bank22 ing supervisors on this matter to ensure the 

23 most efficient and effective use of governmental 

24 resources. 

25 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) RESEARCH.—The Office shall con2 duct research to identify any causes and chal3 lenges contributing to the decision of individ4 uals who, and households that, do not initiate 

5 or maintain on-going and sustainable relation6 ships with depository institutions, including 

7 consulting with trade associations representing 

8 minority depository institutions, organizations 

9 representing the interests of traditionally under10 served consumers and communities, organiza11 tions representing the interests of consumers 

12 (particularly low- and moderate-income individ13 uals), civil rights groups, community groups, 

14 consumer advocates, and the Consumer Advi15 sory Board about this matter. 

16 ‘‘(B) BEST PRACTICES AND STRATE17 GIES.—The Office shall identify best practices 

18 and develop and implement strategies to in19 crease the participation of under-banked, un20 banked, and underserved consumers in the 

21 banking system. 

22 ‘‘(C) FINANCIAL EDUCATION.—The Office 

23 shall identify and develop strategies to increase 

24 financial education to under-banked, un-banked, 

25 and underserved consumers. 


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1 ‘‘(D) REPORT.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 

3 submit a report to Congress, within two 

4 years of the establishment of the Office 

5 and every 2 years thereafter, that identifies 

6 any factors impeding the ability to, or lim7 iting the option for, individuals or house8 holds to have access to on-going and sus9 tainable relationships with depository insti10 tutions to meet their financial needs, dis11 cusses any regulatory, legal, or structural 

12 barriers to enhancing participation of 

13 under-banked, un-banked, and underserved 

14 consumers with depository institutions, and 

15 contains regulatory and legislative rec16 ommendations to promote better participa17 tion for all consumers with the banking 

18 system. 

19 ‘‘(ii) TIMING OF REPORT.—To the ex20 tent possible, the Office shall submit each 

21 report required under clause (i) during a 

22 year in which the Federal Deposit Insur23 ance Corporation does not issue the report 

24 on encouraging use of depository institu25 tions by the unbanked required under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1285.IH H1285

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1 tion 49 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

2 Act. 

3 ‘‘(3) USE OF ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 

4 The Bureau and the Office, in carrying out this sub5 section, and each Federal agency specified under 

6 paragraph (1)(B), in coordinating with the Bureau, 

7 shall use all available data sources when researching 

8 participation of under-banked, un-banked, and un9 derserved consumers in the banking system.’’. 

Æ 


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