I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9059 
To require Federal financial supervisory agencies to evaluate a financial 
institution’s record of meeting community environmentally sustainable 
investment needs as part of examinations, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 31, 2020 
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. CICILLINE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require Federal financial supervisory agencies to evaluate 
a financial institution’s record of meeting community 
environmentally sustainable investment needs as part of 
examinations, 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 ‘‘Climate Protection and 
Sustainable Communities Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF 
PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Financial institutions that are federally reg-
ulated and supervised have an obligation to serve the 
convenience and needs of the entire community, con-
sistent with safe and sound operations. These insti-
tutions include, but are not limited to, insured de-
pository institutions (and their holding companies, if 
any), investment advisers, broker dealers, insurers, 
non-bank lenders, credit unions, investment compa-
nies, and other financial institutions of significant 
size and operations. 
(2) The convenience and needs of communities 
include the need for environmentally sustainable in-
vestment because— 
(A) these financial institutions have, as a 
result of their investment, lending, and other 
activities, contributed to climate change and its 
effects, and therefore have a responsibility to 
act to mitigate climate change; and 
(B) these financial institutions receive 
Federal benefits not available to other types of 
businesses, including— 
(i) support for United States Treas-
ury bond markets, including extraordinary 
commitments to purchase such bonds since 
the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis; 
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(ii) access to the Federal Reserve Dis-
count Window and other special lending fa-
cilities established by the Board of Gov-
ernors of the Federal Reserve System and 
supported by the Treasury department; 
(iii) measures to maintain efficient, 
transparent, and competitive markets; 
(iv) regulatory relief during times of 
stress in the financial system, such as the 
ongoing COVID-19 health crisis; and 
(v) other actions to ensure financial 
stability and mitigate risk to the financial 
system as a whole. 
(3) Regulated financial institutions have con-
tinuing and affirmative obligation to help meet the 
environmentally sustainable investment needs of the 
local communities in which they are chartered. 
(4) Regulated financial institutions should re-
flect the communities which they serve, which in-
cludes people of color and women. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to re-
quire covered financial institutions that are regulated and 
supervised by one or more appropriate financial regulators 
to meet the environmentally sustainable investment needs 
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of the entire community, consistent with the safe and 
sound operation of such institutions. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 
(1) APPLICATION FOR A DEPOSIT FACILITY.— 
The term ‘‘application for a deposit facility’’ means 
an application to the appropriate financial regulator 
otherwise required under Federal law or regulations 
thereunder for— 
(A) a charter for a national bank or Fed-
eral savings and loan association; 
(B) deposit insurance in connection with a 
newly chartered State bank, savings bank, sav-
ings and loan association or similar institution; 
(C) the establishment of a domestic branch 
or other facility with the ability to accept depos-
its of a regulated financial institution; 
(D) the relocation of the home office or a 
branch office of an insured depository institu-
tion (as defined in section 3 of the Federal De-
posit Insurance Act); 
(E) the merger or consolidation with, or 
the acquisition of the assets, or the assumption 
of the liabilities of an insured depository insti-
tution requiring approval under section 18(c) of 
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the Federal Deposit Insurance Act or under 
regulations issued under the authority of title 
IV of the National Housing Act; or 
(F) the acquisition of shares in, or the as-
sets of, an insured depository institution requir-
ing approval under section 3 of the Bank Hold-
ing Company Act of 1956 or section 408(e) of 
the National Housing Act. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
FINANCIAL
REGULATOR.— 
The term ‘‘appropriate financial regulator’’ has the 
meaning given in section 803 of the Payment, Clear-
ing, and Settlement Supervision Act of 2010 (12 
U.S.C. 5462). 
(3) COVERED
FINANCIAL
INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘‘covered financial institution’’ means— 
(A) an insured depository institution (as 
defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit In-
surance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)); 
(B) a depository institution holding com-
pany (as defined in such section); 
(C) an investment adviser or investment 
company (as defined in section 202 of the In-
vestment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b– 
2)); 
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(D) a covered broker or dealer (as defined 
in section 201(a)(7) of the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 
(12 U.S.C. 5381(a)(7))); 
(E) admitted insurers; 
(F) an insured credit union (as defined in 
section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 
(12 U.S.C. 1752)); 
(G) a non-bank lender; and 
(H) any entity that has been identified as 
systemically important by the Financial Sta-
bility Oversight Council. 
(4) ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE INVEST-
MENT.—The term ‘‘environmentally sustainable in-
vestment’’ means investments, loans, and other fi-
nancial products or services that support climate 
mitigation and adaptation efforts, enterprises, and 
projects whose impacts have been evaluated to equi-
tably and sustainably advance social and environ-
mental welfare. 
(b) APPLICATION
OF ENTIRE COMMUNITY.—For 
purposes of this Act, with respect to a covered financial 
institution whose business predominately consists of serv-
ing the needs of military personnel who are not located 
within a defined geographic area, such covered financial 
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institution may define the term ‘‘entire community’’ to in-
clude the entire deposit customer base without regard to 
geographic proximity to the covered financial institution. 
SEC. 4. ASSESSMENT OF COVERED FINANCIAL INSTITU-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 6, 
not less than once every 24 months an appropriate finan-
cial regulator shall assess the record of a covered financial 
institution of meeting the environmentally sustainable in-
vestment needs of the entire community of such institu-
tion, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, 
consistent with the safe and sound operation of such insti-
tution. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR COVERED FINANCIAL IN-
STITUTIONS.— 
(1) RATING.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered financial in-
stitution that received a rating described in 
subparagraph (C), (D), or (E) of section 
5(b)(2) shall, within the 12-month period begin-
ning on the date of receipt of such rating, take 
such action as may be necessary in order for 
such institution to achieve a rating of ‘‘satisfac-
tory record of meeting community environ-
mentally sustainable investment needs’’. 
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(B) PENALTY.—A covered financial insti-
tution that fails to meet the requirements of 
subparagraph (A) shall be subject to such pen-
alties as determined appropriate by the appro-
priate financial regulator of such institution. 
(2) APPROVAL OF REQUESTS.—With respect to 
any request submitted by a covered financial institu-
tion to the appropriate financial regulator to take an 
action that requires the approval of the regulator, 
the appropriate financial regulator may only approve 
such request if the covered financial institution re-
ceived a rating of ‘‘satisfactory record of meeting 
community environmentally sustainable investment 
needs’’ or better during the most recent examination 
of the covered financial institution under this sec-
tion. 
(c) MAJORITY-OWNED INSTITUTIONS.—In assessing 
and taking into account, under subsection (a), the record 
of a nonminority-owned and nonwomen-owned covered fi-
nancial institution, the appropriate financial regulator 
may consider as a factor capital investment, loan partici-
pation, and other ventures undertaken by such covered fi-
nancial institution in cooperation with minority- and 
women-owned financial institutions and low-income credit 
unions, if such activities help meet the environmentally 
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sustainable investment needs of the local communities in 
which such covered financial institution is chartered. 
(d) FINANCIAL
HOLDING
COMPANY
REQUIRE-
MENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An election by a bank hold-
ing company to become a financial holding company 
under section 4 of the Bank Holding Company Act 
of 1956 shall not be effective if— 
(A) the Board finds that, as of the date 
the declaration of such election and the certifi-
cation is filed by such holding company under 
section 4(l)(1)(C) of the Bank Holding Com-
pany Act of 1956, not all of the subsidiary in-
sured depository institutions of the bank hold-
ing company had achieved a rating of ‘‘satisfac-
tory record of meeting community environ-
mentally sustainable investment needs’’, or bet-
ter, at the most recent examination of each 
such institution; and 
(B) the Board notifies the company of 
such finding before the end of the 30-day pe-
riod beginning on such date. 
(2) LIMITED
EXCLUSIONS
FOR
NEWLY
AC-
QUIRED INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS.—Any 
insured depository institution acquired by a bank 
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holding company during the 12-month period pre-
ceding the date of the submission to the Board of 
the declaration and certification under section 
4(l)(1)(C) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 
1956 may be excluded for purposes of paragraph (1) 
during the 12-month period beginning on the date of 
such acquisition if— 
(A) the bank holding company has sub-
mitted an affirmative plan to the appropriate fi-
nancial regulator to take such action as may be 
necessary in order for such institution to 
achieve a rating of ‘‘satisfactory record of meet-
ing community environmentally sustainable in-
vestment needs’’, or better, at the next exam-
ination of the institution; and 
(B) the plan has been accepted by such 
agency. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the following definitions shall apply: 
(A) BANK HOLDING COMPANY; FINANCIAL 
HOLDING COMPANY.—The terms ‘‘bank holding 
company’’ and ‘‘financial holding company’’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 
2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. 
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(B) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System. 
(C) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.— 
The term ‘‘insured depository institution’’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 3(c) of 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. 
SEC. 5. WRITTEN EVALUATIONS. 
(a) REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the conclusion of each 
examination of a covered financial institution under 
section 4, the appropriate financial regulator shall 
prepare a written evaluation of the institution’s 
record of meeting the environmentally sustainable 
investment needs of its entire community, including 
low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. 
(2) PUBLIC
AND
CONFIDENTIAL
SECTIONS.— 
Each written evaluation required under paragraph 
(1) shall have a public section and a confidential sec-
tion. 
(b) PUBLIC SECTION OF REPORT.— 
(1) FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS.— 
(A) CONTENTS
OF
WRITTEN
EVALUA-
TION.—The public section of the written evalua-
tion shall— 
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(i) state the appropriate financial reg-
ulator’s conclusions for each assessment 
factor identified in the regulations pre-
scribed by such appropriate financial regu-
lator to implement this Act; 
(ii) discuss the facts and data sup-
porting such conclusions; and 
(iii) contain the rating of the covered 
financial institution and a statement de-
scribing the basis for the rating. 
(B) 
METROPOLITAN
AREA
DISTINC-
TIONS.—The information required by clauses (i) 
and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be presented 
separately for each metropolitan area in which 
a covered financial institution maintains one or 
more domestic branch offices. 
(2) ASSIGNED RATING.—The rating of a cov-
ered financial institution referred to in paragraph 
(1)(A)(iii) shall be one of the following: 
(A) ‘‘Outstanding record of meeting com-
munity environmentally sustainable investment 
needs’’. 
(B) ‘‘Satisfactory record of meeting com-
munity environmentally sustainable investment 
needs’’. 
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(C) ‘‘Sufficient record of meeting commu-
nity environmentally sustainable investment 
needs’’. 
(D) ‘‘Needs to improve record of meeting 
community environmentally sustainable invest-
ment needs’’. 
(E) ‘‘Substantial noncompliance in meeting 
community environmentally sustainable invest-
ment needs’’. 
(c) CONFIDENTIAL SECTION OF REPORT.— 
(1) PRIVACY
OF
NAMED
INDIVIDUALS.—The 
confidential section of the written evaluation shall 
contain— 
(A) all references that identify any cus-
tomer of the covered financial institution, any 
employee or officer of such institution, or any 
person or organization that has provided infor-
mation in confidence to a Federal or State fi-
nancial supervisory agency; and 
(B) any statements obtained or made by 
the appropriate financial regulator in the course 
of an examination which, in the judgment of 
the regulator, are too sensitive or speculative in 
nature to disclose to the covered financial insti-
tution or the public. 
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(2) DISCLOSURE
TO
DEPOSITORY
INSTITU-
TION.—The confidential section may be disclosed, in 
whole or part, to the covered financial institution, if 
the appropriate financial regulator determines that 
such disclosure will promote the objectives of this 
Act. However, disclosure under this paragraph shall 
not identify a person or organization that has pro-
vided information in confidence to a Federal or 
State financial supervisory agency. 
(d) INSTITUTIONS WITH INTERSTATE BRANCHES.— 
(1) STATE-BY-STATE EVALUATION.—In the case 
of a covered financial institution that maintains do-
mestic branches in 2 or more States, the appropriate 
financial regulator shall prepare— 
(A) a written evaluation of the entire insti-
tution’s record of performance under this title, 
as required by subsections (a), (b), and (c); and 
(B) for each State in which the institution 
maintains 1 or more domestic branches, a sepa-
rate written evaluation of the institution’s 
record of performance within such State under 
this title, as required by subsections (a), (b), 
and (c). 
(2) MULTISTATE
METROPOLITAN
AREAS.—In 
the case of a covered financial institution that main-
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tains domestic branches in 2 or more States within 
a multistate metropolitan area, the appropriate fi-
nancial regulator shall prepare a separate written 
evaluation of the institution’s record of performance 
within such metropolitan area under this title, as re-
quired by subsections (a), (b), and (c). If the appro-
priate financial regulator prepares a written evalua-
tion pursuant to this paragraph, the scope of the 
written evaluation required under paragraph (1)(B) 
shall be adjusted accordingly. 
(3) CONTENT OF STATE-LEVEL EVALUATION.— 
A written evaluation prepared pursuant to para-
graph (1)(B) shall— 
(A) present the information required by 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1) 
separately for each metropolitan area in which 
the covered financial institution maintains 1 or 
more domestic branch offices and separately for 
the remainder of the nonmetropolitan area of 
the State if the covered financial institution 
maintains 1 or more domestic branch offices in 
such nonmetropolitan area; and 
(B) describe how the appropriate financial 
regulator has performed the examination of the 
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covered financial institution, including a list of 
the individual branches examined. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section the 
following definitions shall apply: 
(1) DOMESTIC BRANCH.—The term ‘‘domestic 
branch’’ means any branch office or other facility of 
a covered financial institution that accepts deposits, 
located in any State. 
(2) METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term ‘‘metro-
politan area’’ means any primary metropolitan sta-
tistical area, metropolitan statistical area, or consoli-
dated metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
with a population of 250,000 or more, and any other 
area designated as such by the appropriate financial 
regulator. 
(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the same 
meaning as in section 3 of the Federal Deposit In-
surance Act. 
SEC. 6. SMALL COVERED FINANCIAL INSTITUTION REGU-
LATORY RELIEF. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 
(b) and (c), any covered financial institution with aggre-
gate assets of not more than $250,000,000 shall be sub-
ject to routine examination under this Act— 
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(1) not more than once every 60 months for an 
institution that has achieved a rating of ‘‘out-
standing record of meeting community environ-
mentally sustainable investment needs’’ at its most 
recent examination under section 4; 
(2) not more than once every 48 months for an 
institution that has received a rating of ‘‘satisfactory 
record of meeting community environmentally sus-
tainable investment needs’’ at its most recent exam-
ination under section 4; and 
(3) at least once every 24 months for an insti-
tution that has received a rating of less than ‘‘satis-
factory record of meeting community environ-
mentally sustainable investment needs’’ at its most 
recent examination under section 4. 
(b) NO EXCEPTION FROM EXAMINATIONS IN CON-
NECTION WITH APPLICATIONS
FOR DEPOSIT FACILI-
TIES.—A covered financial institution described in sub-
section (a) shall remain subject to examination under this 
title in connection with an application for a deposit facil-
ity. 
(c) DISCRETION.—A covered financial institution de-
scribed in subsection (a) may be subject to more frequent 
or less frequent examinations for reasonable cause under 
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such circumstances as may be determined by the appro-
priate financial regulator. 
SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY. 
The requirements of this Act shall not supplant the 
requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 
(12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). 
SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Each appropriate financial regulator shall include in 
its annual report to the Congress a section outlining the 
actions it has taken to carry out its responsibilities under 
this Act. 
SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, each appropriate financial regulator shall con-
sult with each other appropriate financial regulator to 
issue rules to carry out this Act. To the extent practicable, 
the appropriate financial regulator shall issue substan-
tially similar rules. 
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise provided, the requirements of 
this Act shall take effect one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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