Title: Federal Savings Association Charter Flexibility Act of 2017
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Federal Savings Association Charter Flexibility Act of 2017
This bill amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to permit a federal savings association to elect to operate, subject to supervision by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with the same rights and duties as a national bank.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 567 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 567

      To amend the Home Owners' Loan Act to allow Federal savings 
   associations to elect to operate as national banks, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2017

 Ms. Heitkamp introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the Home Owners' Loan Act to allow Federal savings 
   associations to elect to operate as national banks, 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 ``Federal Savings Association Charter 
Flexibility Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. OPTION FOR FEDERAL SAVINGS ASSOCIATIONS TO OPERATE AS A COVERED 
              SAVINGS ASSOCIATION.

    The Home Owners' Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 5 the following:

``SEC. 5A. ELECTION TO OPERATE AS A COVERED SAVINGS ASSOCIATION.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `covered savings 
association' means a Federal savings association that makes an election 
approved under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Election.--
            ``(1) In general.--Upon issuance of the rules described in 
        subsection (f), a Federal savings association may elect to 
        operate as a covered savings association by submitting a notice 
        to the Comptroller of such election.
            ``(2) Approval.--A Federal savings association shall be 
        deemed to be approved to operate as a covered savings 
        association on the date that is 60 days after the date on which 
        the Comptroller receives the notice under paragraph (1), unless 
        the Comptroller notifies the Federal savings association 
        otherwise.
    ``(c) Rights and Duties.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law and except as otherwise provided in this section, a covered savings 
association shall--
            ``(1) have the same rights and privileges as a national 
        bank that has its main office situated in the same location as 
        the home office of the covered savings association; and
            ``(2) be subject to the same duties, restrictions, 
        penalties, liabilities, conditions, and limitations that would 
        apply to such a national bank.
    ``(d) Treatment of Covered Savings Associations.--A covered savings 
association shall be treated as a Federal savings association for the 
purposes--
            ``(1) of governance of the covered savings association, 
        including incorporation, bylaws, boards of directors, 
        shareholders, and distribution of dividends;
            ``(2) of consolidation, merger, dissolution, conversion 
        (including conversion to a stock bank or to another charter), 
        conservatorship, and receivership; and
            ``(3) determined by regulation of the Comptroller.
    ``(e) Existing Branches.--A covered savings association may 
continue to operate any branch or agency the covered savings 
association operated on the date on which an election under subsection 
(b) is approved.
    ``(f) Rulemaking.--The Comptroller shall issue rules to carry out 
this section--
            ``(1) that establish streamlined standards and procedures 
        that clearly identify required documentation or timelines for 
        an election under subsection (b);
            ``(2) that require a Federal savings association that makes 
        an election under subsection (b) to identify specific assets 
        and subsidiaries--
                    ``(A) that do not conform to the requirements for 
                assets and subsidiaries of a national bank; and
                    ``(B) that are held by the Federal savings 
                association on the date on which the Federal savings 
                association submits a notice of such election;
            ``(3) that establish--
                    ``(A) a transition process for bringing such assets 
                and subsidiaries into conformance with the requirements 
                for a national bank; and
                    ``(B) procedures for allowing the Federal savings 
                association to provide a justification for 
                grandfathering such assets and subsidiaries after 
                electing to operate as a covered savings association;
            ``(4) that establish standards and procedures to allow a 
        covered savings association to terminate an election under 
        subsection (b) after an appropriate period of time or to make a 
        subsequent election;
            ``(5) that clarify requirements for the treatment of 
        covered savings associations, including the provisions of law 
        that apply to covered savings associations; and
            ``(6) as the Comptroller deems necessary and in the 
        interests of safety and soundness.''.
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