I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4767 
To promote innovation in financial services, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 21, 2019 
Mr. MCHENRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Agri-
culture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To promote innovation in financial services, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Financial Services Innovation Act of 2019’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Agency identification of regulatory areas. 
Sec. 4. Establishment of FSIO at agencies. 
Sec. 5. FSIO Liaison Committee and chair. 
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Sec. 6. Petition to agency. 
Sec. 7. Agency determination of petition. 
Sec. 8. Enforceable compliance agreement. 
Sec. 9. Report to Congress. 
Sec. 10. Funding. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 
(1) AGENCY REGULATION.—The term ‘‘agency 
regulation’’ means— 
(A) a rule (as defined in section 551 of 
title 5, United States Code) issued by an agen-
cy; 
(B) guidance issued by an agency; or 
(C) a published proposed or interim rule, 
policy statement, directive, adjudication, or in-
terpretation of an agency. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means each 
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec-
tion, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
the Department of the Treasury, the Federal De-
posit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing 
Finance Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, the 
National Credit Union Administration Board, the 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the 
Securities and Exchange Commission. 
(3) COVERED
PERSON.—The term ‘‘covered 
person’’ means a person that offers or intends to 
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offer a financial innovation by submitting a petition 
to a Financial Services Innovation Office at one or 
more agencies. 
(4) 
ENFORCEABLE
COMPLIANCE
AGREE-
MENT.—The term ‘‘enforceable compliance agree-
ment’’ means a contractual agreement described 
under section 8. 
(5) FINANCIAL INNOVATION.—The term ‘‘finan-
cial innovation’’ means an innovative financial serv-
ice or product, the delivery of which is enabled by 
technology, that is or may be subject to an agency 
regulation or Federal statute. 
(6) FINANCIAL SERVICES INNOVATION OFFICE 
OR FSIO.—The term ‘‘Financial Services Innovative 
Office’’ or ‘‘FSIO’’ means an office established in an 
agency pursuant to section 5. 
SEC. 3. AGENCY IDENTIFICATION OF REGULATORY AREAS. 
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, each agency 
shall publish in the Federal Register a nonexclusive list 
that identifies 3 or more areas of existing regulation— 
(1) that apply or may apply to a financial inno-
vation; and 
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(2) that the agency would consider modifying or 
waiving if the agency were to receive a petition 
under section 6 relating to that regulation. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FSIO AT AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall establish a Fi-
nancial Services Innovation Office (known as ‘‘FSIO’’) to 
promote financial innovations and to assist a covered per-
son whose petition has been approved under section 7. 
(b) DIRECTOR.—Each agency shall appoint an indi-
vidual to serve as the Director of the agency’s FSIO. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) GENERAL
DUTIES.—Each agency, acting 
through the agency’s FSIO, shall— 
(A) support the development of financial 
innovations; 
(B) coordinate with FSIOs at other agen-
cies to share information and data; and 
(C) establish procedures to reduce the time 
and cost of offering a financial innovation to 
the public and enable greater access to financial 
innovations. 
(2) DUTIES FOR PETITIONS.—With respect to a 
covered person whose petition has been approved 
under section 7, each FSIO shall— 
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(A) work with the covered person to ad-
dress issues of how existing regulatory frame-
works apply to the financial innovation that is 
the subject of the petition; 
(B) assist the covered person in complying 
with the requirements of Federal regulators of 
the financial innovation; and 
(C) assist the covered person in responding 
to any challenges to a modification or a waiver 
granted under subsection (d). 
(d) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—With respect to a covered 
person whose petition has been approved under section 7, 
if an agency has a rational basis for doing so and if the 
agency determines that a provision of a Federal statute 
under which the agency has rulemaking authority or an 
agency regulation is unduly burdensome to the covered 
person, the agency shall, acting through the agency’s 
FSIO, modify or waive the application of the Federal stat-
ute or the agency regulation. 
(e) TERMINATION OF OTHER PROGRAMS; TRANSFER 
OF AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after the estab-
lishment of a FSIO at an agency, the agency shall modify 
any offices or programs at the agency that promote finan-
cial innovations or assist covered persons in developing fi-
nancial innovations to operate within the FSIO. Any legal 
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action or proceeding commenced by or against such office 
or program of the agency, including no-action letters and 
staff advisory opinions, shall be transferred to the FSIO 
of that agency. 
(f) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, each 
agency shall submit a report to Congress and to the Fi-
nancial Stability Oversight Council, and shall present tes-
timony to Congress, on the activities of the FSIO, includ-
ing a description of the petitions considered, the rationale 
for acceptance or rejection of petitions, and the efforts of 
the FSIO to encourage financial innovations. 
(g) SUNSET.—If an agency has not received a peti-
tion described in section 6 within 5 years of the date of 
the establishment of the agency’s FSIO, the agency shall 
eliminate the FSIO, while continuing to honor any en-
forceable compliance agreement of another agency. 
SEC. 5. FSIO LIAISON COMMITTEE AND CHAIR. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the agencies shall 
establish a committee to be known as the ‘‘FSIO Liaison 
Committee’’. 
(b) MEMBERS.—The FSIO Liaison Committee shall 
be composed of the Director of each FSIO office and a 
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