II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2237 

To amend the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 

1978 to improve the examination of depository institutions, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2017 

Mr. MORAN (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Financial Institutions Examination 

Council Act of 1978 to improve the examination of depository 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 Examination Fairness and Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TIMELINESS OF EXAMINATION REPORTS. 

7 The Federal Financial Institutions Examination 

8 Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1012. TIMELINESS OF EXAMINATION REPORTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) FINAL EXAMINATION REPORT.—A Federal 

4 financial institutions regulatory agency shall provide 

5 a final examination report to a financial institution 

6 not later than 60 days after the later of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the exit interview for an examination 

8 of the institution; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the provision of additional informa10 tion by the institution relating to the examina11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXIT INTERVIEW.—If a financial institu13 tion is not subject to a resident examiner program, 

14 the exit interview shall occur not later than the end 

15 of the 9-month period beginning on the commence16 ment of the examination, except that such period 

17 may be extended by the Federal financial institu18 tions regulatory agency by providing written notice 

19 to the institution and the Director describing with 

20 particularity the reasons that a longer period is 

21 needed to complete the examination. 

22 ‘‘(b) EXAMINATION MATERIALS.—Upon the request 

23 of a financial institution, the Federal financial institutions 

24 regulatory agency shall include with the final report an 

25 appendix listing all examination or other factual informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:49 Dec 18, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2237.IS S2237

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1 tion relied upon by the agency in support of a material 

2 supervisory determination.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION REVIEW DIRECTOR. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Financial Institu5 tions Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3301 

6 et seq.), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is further 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1013. OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION RE9 VIEW. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

11 Council an Office of Independent Examination Review. 

12 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.—There is established the po13 sition of the Independent Examination Review Director, 

14 as the head of the Office of Independent Examination Re15 view. The Director shall be appointed by the Federal Fi16 nancial Institutions Examination Council. 

17 ‘‘(c) STAFFING.—The Director is authorized to hire 

18 staff to support the activities of the Office of Independent 

19 Examination Review. 

20 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) receive and, at the discretion of the Direc22 tor, investigate complaints from financial institu23 tions, their representatives, or another entity acting 

24 on behalf of such institutions, concerning examina25 tions, examination practices, or examination reports; 


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1 ‘‘(2) hold meetings, at least once every three 

2 months and in locations designed to encourage par3 ticipation from all sections of the United States, 

4 with financial institutions, their representatives, or 

5 another entity acting on behalf of such institutions, 

6 to discuss examination procedures, examination 

7 practices, or examination policies; 

8 ‘‘(3) review examination procedures of the Fed9 eral financial institutions regulatory agencies to en10 sure that the written examination policies of those 

11 agencies are being followed in practice and adhere to 

12 the standards for consistency established by the 

13 Council; 

14 ‘‘(4) conduct a continuing and regular program 

15 of examination quality assurance for all examination 

16 types conducted by the Federal financial institutions 

17 regulatory agencies; 

18 ‘‘(5) adjudicate any supervisory appeal initiated 

19 under section 1014; and 

20 ‘‘(6) report annually to the Committee on Fi21 nancial Services of the House of Representatives, the 

22 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

23 of the Senate, and the Council, on the reviews car24 ried out pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4), includ25 ing compliance with the requirements set forth in 


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1 section 1012 regarding timeliness of examination re2 ports, and the Council’s recommendations for im3 provements in examination procedures, practices, 

4 and policies. 

5 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Director shall keep 

6 confidential all meetings, discussions, and information 

7 provided by financial institutions.’’. 

8 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 1003 of the Federal Fi9 nancial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 

10 U.S.C. 3302) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

12 end; 

13 (2) in paragraph (3), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Director’ means the Independent 

17 Examination Review Director established under sec18 tion 1013(a) and (b).’’. 

19 SEC. 4. RIGHT TO INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF MATERIAL SU20 PERVISORY DETERMINATIONS. 

21 The Federal Financial Institutions Examination 

22 Council Act of 1978, as amended by sections 2 and 3 of 

23 this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1014. RIGHT TO INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF MATERIAL 

2 SUPERVISORY DETERMINATIONS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A financial institution shall have 

4 the right to obtain an independent review of a material 

5 supervisory determination contained in a final report of 

6 examination. 

7 ‘‘(b) NOTICE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TIMING.—A financial institution seeking 

9 review of a material supervisory determination under 

10 this section shall file a written notice with the Direc11 tor within 60 days after receiving the final report of 

12 examination that is the subject of such review. 

13 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION OF DETERMINATION.— 

14 The written notice shall identify the material super15 visory determination that is the subject of the inde16 pendent examination review, and a statement of the 

17 reasons why the institution believes that the deter18 mination is incorrect or should otherwise be modi19 fied. 

20 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED TO INSTI21 TUTION.—Any information relied upon by the agen22 cy in the final report that is not in the possession 

23 of the financial institution may be requested by the 

24 financial institution and shall be delivered promptly 

25 by the agency to the financial institution. 

26 ‘‘(c) RIGHT TO HEARING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 

2 ‘‘(A) determine the merits of the appeal on 

3 the record; or 

4 ‘‘(B) at the election of the financial institu5 tion, refer the appeal to an administrative law 

6 judge to conduct a hearing pursuant to the pro7 cedures set forth under sections 556 and 557 of 

8 title 5, United States Code, which shall take 

9 place not later than 60 days after the petition 

10 for review is received by the Director. 

11 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF DECISION.—An administrative 

12 law judge conducting a hearing under paragraph 

13 (1)(B) shall issue a proposed decision to the Direc14 tor based upon the record established at the hearing. 

15 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In any hearing 

16 under this subsection— 

17 ‘‘(A) neither the administrative law judge 

18 nor the Director shall defer to the opinions of 

19 the examiner or agency, but shall independently 

20 determine the appropriateness of the agency’s 

21 decision based upon the relevant statutes, regu22 lations, other appropriate guidance, and evi23 dence presented at the hearing. 

24 ‘‘(d) FINAL DECISION.—A decision by the Director 

25 on an independent review under this section shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) be made not later than 60 days after the 

2 record has been closed; and 

3 ‘‘(2) be deemed final agency action and shall 

4 bind the agency whose supervisory determination 

5 was the subject of the review and the financial insti6 tution requesting the review. 

7 ‘‘(e) RIGHT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A financial insti8 tution shall have the right to petition for review of the 

9 decision of the Director under this section by filing a peti10 tion for review not later than 60 days after the date on 

11 which the decision is made in the United States Court of 

12 Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or the Circuit 

13 in which the financial institution is located. 

14 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Director shall report annually to 

15 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep16 resentatives, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

17 Urban Affairs of the Senate on actions taken under this 

18 section, including the types of issues that the Director has 

19 reviewed and the results of those reviews. In no case shall 

20 such a report contain information about individual finan21 cial institutions or any confidential or privileged informa22 tion shared by financial institutions. 

23 ‘‘(g) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—A Federal finan24 cial institutions regulatory agency may not— 


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1 ‘‘(1) retaliate against a financial institution, in2 cluding service providers, or any institution-affiliated 

3 party, for exercising appellate rights under this sec4 tion; or 

5 ‘‘(2) delay or deny any agency action that 

6 would benefit a financial institution or any institu7 tion-affiliated party on the basis that an appeal 

8 under this section is pending under this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS. 

10 (a) REGULATOR APPEALS PROCESS, OMBUDSMAN, 

11 AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 309 of the Riegle 

13 Community Development and Regulatory Improve14 ment Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4806) is amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting after 

16 ‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency’’ the fol17 lowing: ‘‘, the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

18 Protection,’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (b)— 

20 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

21 and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B) and 

22 indenting appropriately; 

23 (ii) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A) (as redesignated), by striking 


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1 ‘‘In establishing’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) IN

2 GENERAL.—In establishing’’; 

3 (iii) in paragraph (1)(B) (as redesig4 nated), by striking ‘‘the appellant from re5 taliation by agency examiners’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘the insured depository institution or 

7 insured credit union from retaliation by an 

8 agency referred to in subsection (a)’’; and 

9 (iv) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(2) RETALIATION.—For purposes of this sub12 section and subsection (e), retaliation includes delay13 ing consideration of, or withholding approval of, any 

14 request, notice, or application that otherwise would 

15 have been approved, but for the exercise of the insti16 tution’s or credit union’s rights under this section.’’; 

17 (C) in subsection (e)(2)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

21 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(D) ensure that appropriate safeguards 

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1 tution or insured credit union from retaliation 

2 by any agency referred to in subsection (a) for 

3 exercising its rights under this subsection.’’; 

4 and 

5 (D) in subsection (f)(1)(A) 

6 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

7 and inserting a semicolon; 

8 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

9 and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(iv) any issue specifically listed in an 

13 exam report as a matter requiring atten14 tion by the institution’s management or 

15 board of directors; and 

16 ‘‘(v) any suspension or removal of an 

17 institution’s status as eligible for expedited 

18 processing of applications, requests, no19 tices, or filings on the grounds of a super20 visory or compliance concern, regardless of 

21 whether that concern has been cited as a 

22 basis for a material supervisory determina23 tion or matter requiring attention in an ex24 amination report, provided that the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:49 Dec 18, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2237.IS S2237

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1 duct at issue did not involve violation of 

2 any criminal law; and’’. 

3 (2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection af4 fects the authority of an appropriate Federal bank5 ing agency or the National Credit Union Adminis6 tration Board to take enforcement or other super7 visory action. 

8 (b) FEDERAL CREDIT UNION ACT.—Section 205(j) 

9 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1785(j)) is 

10 amended by inserting ‘‘the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

11 Protection,’’ before ‘‘the Administration’’ each place that 

12 term appears. 

13 (c) FEDERAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS EXAMINA14 TION COUNCIL ACT.—The Federal Financial Institutions 

15 Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3301 et 

16 seq.), as amended by sections 2 through 4 of this Act, 

17 is further amended— 

18 (1) in section 1003 (12 U.S.C. 3302) by strik19 ing paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal financial institutions 

21 regulatory agencies’— 

22 ‘‘(A) means the Office of the Comptroller 

23 of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the 

24 Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit 


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1 Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit 

2 Union Administration; and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes the Bureau of Consumer Fi4 nancial Protection for purposes of sections 

5 1012 through 1014;’’; and 

6 (2) in section 1005 (12 U.S.C. 3304), by strik7 ing ‘‘One-fifth’’ and inserting ‘‘One-fourth’’. 

Æ 


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