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. 
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 ‘‘Improving Access to 
Traditional Banking Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. OFFICE FOR UNDER-BANKED, UN-BANKED, AND UN-
DERSERVED CONSUMERS. 
Section 1013 of the Consumer Financial Protection 
Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(i) OFFICE
FOR UNDER-BANKED, UN-BANKED, 
AND UNDERSERVED CONSUMERS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Before the end of the 
90-day period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of the subsection, the Bureau shall— 
‘‘(A) establish an Office for Under- 
Banked, Un-Banked, and Underserved Con-
sumers (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Office’), 
the functions of which shall include activities 
designed to better assess the reasons for the 
lack of, and help increase the participation of, 
under-banked, un-banked, and underserved con-
sumers in the banking system; and 
‘‘(B) lead coordination between the appro-
priate Federal banking agencies, the National 
Credit Union Administration, and State bank-
ing supervisors on this matter to ensure the 
most efficient and effective use of governmental 
resources. 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 
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‘‘(A) RESEARCH.—The Office shall con-
duct research to identify any causes and chal-
lenges contributing to the decision of individ-
uals who, and households that, do not initiate 
or maintain on-going and sustainable relation-
ships with depository institutions, including 
consulting with trade associations representing 
minority depository institutions, organizations 
representing the interests of traditionally under-
served consumers and communities, organiza-
tions representing the interests of consumers 
(particularly low- and moderate-income individ-
uals), civil rights groups, community groups, 
consumer advocates, and the Consumer Advi-
sory Board about this matter. 
‘‘(B) BEST
PRACTICES
AND
STRATE-
GIES.—The Office shall identify best practices 
and develop and implement strategies to in-
crease the participation of under-banked, un- 
banked, and underserved consumers in the 
banking system. 
‘‘(C) FINANCIAL EDUCATION.—The Office 
shall identify and develop strategies to increase 
financial education to under-banked, un-banked, 
and underserved consumers. 
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‘‘(D) REPORT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 
submit a report to Congress, within two 
years of the establishment of the Office 
and every 2 years thereafter, that identifies 
any factors impeding the ability to, or lim-
iting the option for, individuals or house-
holds to have access to on-going and sus-
tainable relationships with depository insti-
tutions to meet their financial needs, dis-
cusses any regulatory, legal, or structural 
barriers to enhancing participation of 
under-banked, un-banked, and underserved 
consumers with depository institutions, and 
contains regulatory and legislative rec-
ommendations to promote better participa-
tion for all consumers with the banking 
system. 
‘‘(ii) TIMING OF REPORT.—To the ex-
tent possible, the Office shall submit each 
report required under clause (i) during a 
year in which the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Corporation does not issue the report 
on encouraging use of depository institu-
tions by the unbanked required under sec-
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tion 49 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Act. 
‘‘(3) USE OF ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 
The Bureau and the Office, in carrying out this sub-
section, and each Federal agency specified under 
paragraph (1)(B), in coordinating with the Bureau, 
shall use all available data sources when researching 
participation of under-banked, un-banked, and un-
derserved consumers in the banking system.’’. 
Æ 
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