Title: Postal Banking Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Postal Banking Act
This bill grants the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) the power to provide basic financial services, including:
It grants the USPS the power to: (1) set interest rates and fees for the financial instruments and products provided by the USPS that meet specified requirements, and (2) allow capitalization of an amount deemed necessary by the USPS to finance the services provided by this bill.
The USPS: (1) shall not be granted a bank charter, become an insured depository institution, or engage in traditional banking activities such as lending; and (2) shall be subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code regarding bank deposits and collections.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5816 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5816

   To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the United 
States Postal Service may provide certain basic financial services, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2018

    Ms. Clarke of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the United 
States Postal Service may provide certain basic financial services, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Postal Banking Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE TO OFFER CERTAIN FINANCIAL 
              SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) to provide basic financial services, including--
                    ``(A) low-cost, small-dollar loans, not to exceed 
                $500 at a time, or $1,000 from 1 year of the issuance 
                of the initial loan, as adjusted annually by the 
                Postmaster General to reflect any change in the 
                Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers of the 
                Department of Labor;
                    ``(B) alone, or in partnership with depository 
                institutions, as defined in section 3 of the Federal 
                Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813), and Federal 
                credit unions, as defined in section 101 of the of the 
                Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752), small 
                checking accounts and interest-bearing savings 
                accounts, not to exceed the greater of--
                            ``(i) $20,000 per account; and
                            ``(ii) 25 percent of the median account 
                        balance reported in the Federal Deposit 
                        Insurance Corporation's quarterly Consolidated 
                        Reports of Condition and Income;
                    ``(C) transactional services, including debit 
                cards, automated teller machines, online checking 
                accounts, check-cashing services, automatic bill-pay, 
                mobile banking, or other products that allows users to 
                engage in the financial services described in this 
                paragraph;
                    ``(D) remittance services, including the receiving 
                and sending of money to domestic or foreign recipients; 
                and
                    ``(E) such other basic financial services as the 
                Postal Service determines appropriate in the public 
                interest;
            ``(10) to set interest rates and fees for the financial 
        instruments and products provided by the Postal Service that--
                    ``(A) ensures that the customer access to the 
                products and the public interest is given significant 
                consideration;
                    ``(B) ensures that interest rates on savings 
                accounts are at least 100 percent of the Federal 
                Deposit Insurance Corporation's weekly national rate on 
                non-jumbo savings accounts; and
                    ``(C) ensures that the total interest rates on 
                small-dollar loan amounts--
                            ``(i) are inclusive of interest, fees, 
                        charges, and ancillary products and services; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) do not exceed 101 percent of the 
                        Treasury 1 month constant maturity rate; and
            ``(11) allow capitalization of an amount deemed necessary 
        by the Postmaster General that serve the purpose of this 
        section, through an account separate from products not included 
        or allowed in this section, for the purposes of enacting the 
        provisions of this section.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Any net profits from services provided under this section 
that are not greater than the amount of initial capitalization--
            ``(1) shall be reported separately from mail service and 
        delivery;
            ``(2) in the case of any amount appropriated, shall be 
        returned to the general fund of the Treasury not later than 9 
        years after the date of enactment of this subsection; and
            ``(3) may be repaid to the offering organization or 
        organizations if the Postmaster General determines that the 
        services provided in this subsection are not reduced as a 
        result.''.
    (b) No Bank Charter.--The United States Postal Service shall not be 
granted a bank charter, become an insured depository institution, as 
defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 
1813), or engage in traditional banking activities such as lending, 
other than those activities permitted under section 404 of title 39, 
United States Code, as amended by this Act.
    (c) UCC.--The United States Postal Service shall be subject to the 
provisions of article 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
    (d) Regulations.--The Postmaster General, in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Treasury, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 
and the Federal banking agencies, shall promulgate regulations carrying 
out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
    (e) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 404(e)(2) of title 
39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
``The preceding sentence shall not apply to any financial service 
offered by the Postal Service under subsection (a)(9).''.
    (f) Rule of Construction.--The services offered by the United 
States Postal Service under section 404 of title 39, United States 
Code--
            (1) shall be considered permissible non-banking activities 
        in accordance with section 225.28 of title 12, Code of Federal 
        Regulations; and
            (2) shall not be considered the business of banking under 
        the seventh paragraph of section 5136 of the Revised Statutes 
        (12 U.S.C. 24).
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