I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3179 
To require the appropriate Federal banking agencies, when issuing certain 
prudential regulations that are substantively more stringent than a cor-
responding international prudential standard to publish the rationale 
for doing so and a cost-benefit analysis of the difference, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 11, 2017 
Mr. HOLLINGSWORTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the appropriate Federal banking agencies, when 
issuing certain prudential regulations that are sub-
stantively more stringent than a corresponding inter-
national prudential standard to publish the rationale for 
doing so and a cost-benefit analysis of the difference, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency and Ac-
countability for Business Standards Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS REQUIREMENT FOR CER-
TAIN PRUDENTIAL REGULATIONS. 
(a) RULEMAKING REQUIREMENT.—An appropriate 
Federal banking agency may not adopt or otherwise estab-
lish a prudential regulation that is substantively more 
stringent than a corresponding international prudential 
standard unless the appropriate Federal banking agency 
publishes, for public notice and comment— 
(1) a description of the agency’s rationale for 
doing so; and 
(2) a comprehensive analysis of the costs and 
benefits of the difference between the prudential reg-
ulation and the corresponding international pruden-
tial standard, including— 
(A) any impact on the pricing and avail-
ability of credit in the aggregate and for spe-
cific types of borrowers; 
(B) any impact on liquidity in markets for 
financial instruments in the aggregate and for 
specific types of instruments; 
(C) any impact of doing so on the competi-
tiveness of affected institutions; and 
(D) any impact on employment, economic 
growth, and the execution of monetary policy. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT
TO SUPER-
SEDED
PRUDENTIAL
REGULATIONS.—An appropriate 
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Federal banking agency may not adopt or otherwise estab-
lish a prudential regulation to implement an international 
standard that will result in a prudential regulation that 
is then in effect becoming a superseded prudential regula-
tion, unless the appropriate Federal banking agency pub-
lishes for public notice and comment— 
(1) a proposal to repeal or amend the super-
seded prudential regulation, or applicable part there-
of; or 
(2) if the appropriate Federal banking agency 
does not propose to repeal or amend the superseded 
prudential regulation, or applicable part thereof, a 
description of the agency’s rationale for not doing 
so, which shall include a comprehensive analysis of 
the incremental costs and benefits of the superseded 
prudential regulation after the adoption of the pru-
dential regulation to implement an international 
standard. 
(c) LOOKBACK REQUIREMENT.—With respect to a 
final rule issued by an appropriate Federal banking agen-
cy on or after January 1, 2007, but before the date of 
the enactment of this Act that established a prudential 
regulation that is substantively more stringent than a cor-
responding international prudential standard, or that re-
sulted in another prudential regulation becoming a super-
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seded prudential regulation, each appropriate Federal 
banking agency shall, not later than the end of the 180- 
day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, issue a report to the Congress (and make such report 
available on the website of the agency) with respect to 
such rule, containing the description and analysis de-
scribed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) 
or paragraph (2) of subsection (b), as applicable. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
FEDERAL
BANKING
AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘‘appropriate Federal banking agen-
cy’’ has the meaning given that term under section 
3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. 
(2) 
BANKING
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term 
‘‘banking organization’’ means a depository institu-
tion or a depository institution holding company, as 
such terms are defined, respectively, under section 3 
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. 
(3) CORRESPONDING INTERNATIONAL PRUDEN-
TIAL STANDARD.—The term ‘‘corresponding inter-
national prudential standard’’ means an inter-
national prudential standard on which a prudential 
regulation is based, from which a prudential regula-
tion is derived, or to which a prudential regulation 
is otherwise substantively similar. 
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(4) 
PRUDENTIAL
REGULATION.—The 
term 
‘‘prudential regulation’’ means any rule or regula-
tion relating to capital requirements, leverage re-
quirements, liquidity requirements, or any similar 
requirements, including any rule or regulation that 
imposes any minimum requirement on a banking or-
ganization’s amount of capital, debt, or liquid assets, 
either in absolute terms or as a ratio of any measure 
of assets, exposures, or cash inflows and outflows, or 
that conditions the ability of a banking organization 
to take any action or imposes any requirement based 
on any absolute or proportional measure of capital, 
leverage, debt, or liquidity. 
(5) PRUDENTIAL REGULATION TO IMPLEMENT 
AN
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD.—The term ‘‘pru-
dential regulation to implement an international 
standard’’ means a prudential regulation that is 
based on, derived from, or otherwise substantively 
similar to an international prudential standard. 
(6) INTERNATIONAL PRUDENTIAL STANDARD.— 
The term ‘‘international prudential standard’’ means 
any standard that has been adopted by an inter-
national institution comprised of an appropriate 
Federal banking agency and banking supervisors or 
central banks of jurisdictions other than the United 
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