I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 766 
To provide requirements for the appropriate Federal banking agencies when 
requesting or ordering a depository institution to terminate a specific 
customer account, to provide for additional requirements related to sub-
poenas issued under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and 
Enforcement Act of 1989, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2015 
Mr. LUETKEMEYER (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS, and Mr. STIVERS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To provide requirements for the appropriate Federal banking 
agencies when requesting or ordering a depository insti-
tution to terminate a specific customer account, to pro-
vide for additional requirements related to subpoenas 
issued under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recov-
ery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Financial Institution 
Customer Protection Act of 2015’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:03 Feb 12, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H766.IH
H766
ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR DEPOSIT ACCOUNT TERMI-
NATION REQUESTS AND ORDERS. 
(a) TERMINATION REQUESTS OR ORDERS MUST BE 
MATERIAL.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—An appropriate Federal 
banking agency may not formally or informally re-
quest or order a depository institution to terminate 
a specific customer account or group of customer ac-
counts or to otherwise restrict or discourage a de-
pository institution from entering into or maintain-
ing a banking relationship with a specific customer 
or group of customers unless— 
(A) the agency has a material reason for 
such request or order; and 
(B) such reason is not based solely on rep-
utation risk. 
(2) 
TREATMENT
OF
NATIONAL
SECURITY 
THREATS.—If an appropriate Federal banking agen-
cy believes a specific customer or group of customers 
poses a threat to national security, including any be-
lief that such customer or group of customers is in-
volved in terrorist financing, such belief shall satisfy 
the materiality requirement under paragraph (1)(A). 
(b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If an appropriate Federal 
banking agency formally or informally requests or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:03 Feb 12, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H766.IH
H766
ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
orders a depository institution to terminate a spe-
cific customer account or a group of customer ac-
counts, the agency shall— 
(A) provide such request or order to the 
institution in writing; and 
(B) accompany such request or order with 
a written justification for why such termination 
is needed, including any specific laws or regula-
tions the agency believes are being violated by 
the customer or group of customers, if any. 
(2) JUSTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—A jus-
tification described under paragraph (1)(B) may not 
be based solely on the reputation risk to the deposi-
tory institution. 
(c) CUSTOMER NOTICE.— 
(1) NOTICE NOT REQUIRED.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed as requiring a depository 
institution or an appropriate Federal banking agen-
cy to inform a customer or customers of the jus-
tification for the customer’s account termination de-
scribed under subsection (b). 
(2) NOTICE
PROHIBITED
IN
CASES
OF
NA-
TIONAL SECURITY.—If an appropriate Federal bank-
ing agency requests or orders a depository institu-
tion to terminate a specific customer account or a 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:03 Feb 12, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H766.IH
H766
ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
group of customer accounts based on a belief that 
the customer or customers pose a threat to national 
security, neither the depository institution nor the 
appropriate Federal banking agency may inform the 
customer or customers of the justification for the 
customer’s account termination. 
(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each appropriate 
Federal banking agency shall issue an annual report to 
the Congress stating— 
(1) the aggregate number of specific customer 
accounts that the agency requested or ordered a de-
pository institution to terminate during the previous 
year; and 
(2) the legal authority on which the agency re-
lied in making such requests and orders and the fre-
quency on which the agency relied on each such au-
thority. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
FEDERAL
BANKING
AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘‘appropriate Federal banking agen-
cy’’ means— 
(A) the appropriate Federal banking agen-
cy, as defined under section 3 of the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:03 Feb 12, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H766.IH
H766
ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(B) the National Credit Union Administra-
tion, in the case of an insured credit union. 
(2) DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘de-
pository institution’’ means— 
(A) a depository institution, as defined 
under section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); and 
(B) an insured credit union. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 
REFORM, RECOVERY, AND ENFORCEMENT 
ACT OF 1989. 
Section 951 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Re-
covery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1833a) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘affecting 
a federally insured financial institution’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘against a federally insured financial institution 
or by a federally insured financial institution against 
an unaffiliated third person’’; and 
(2) in subsection (g)— 
(A) in the header, by striking ‘‘SUB-
POENAS’’ and inserting ‘‘INVESTIGATIONS’’; and 
(B) by amending paragraph (1)(C) to read 
as follows: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:03 Feb 12, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H766.IH
H766
ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(C) summon witnesses and require the 
production of any books, papers, correspond-
ence, memoranda, or other records which the 
Attorney General deems relevant or material to 
the inquiry, if the Attorney General— 
‘‘(i) requests a court order from a 
court of competent jurisdiction for such ac-
tions and offers specific and articulable 
facts showing that there are reasonable 
grounds to believe that the information or 
testimony sought is relevant and material 
for conducting an investigation under this 
section; or 
‘‘(ii) either personally or through dele-
gation no lower than the Deputy Attorney 
General, issues and signs a subpoena for 
such actions and such subpoena is sup-
ported by specific and articulable facts 
showing that there are reasonable grounds 
to believe that the information or testi-
mony sought is relevant for conducting an 
investigation under this section.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:03 Feb 12, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H766.IH
H766
ebenthall on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS