SAFE Banking Act of 2010

Bill: 111-s-3241
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2010-04-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Department of the Treasury
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Reserve System
Financial services and investments
Foreign and international banking
Securities
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Summary:
action_date: 2010-04-21
text: 
Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Efficient Banking Act of 2010 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2010 - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to prohibit a bank holding company from holding more than 10% of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in the United States.
 
Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to require any bank holding company having a deposit concentration in violation of this Act to sell or transfer assets to unaffiliated firms to bring the company into compliance with this Act.
 
Prescribes minimum leverage ratios (6% of average total consolidated assets) and balance sheet leverage ratios (6% of tier 1 capital for all outstanding balance sheet liabilities) for tier 1 capital maintained by a bank holding company or financial company.
 
Authorizes the Board and other federal regulators to grant an emergency temporary exemption from such ratio requirements where necessary to prevent an imminent threat to the financial stability of the United States.
 
Directs the Board to: (1) establish a leverage ratio and a balance sheet leverage ratio for all operating subsidiaries of bank holding companies and financial companies; and (2) require a noncompliant bank holding company or financial company to raise capital, sell, or otherwise transfer assets or off-balance sheet items to unaffiliated firms (prompt corrective action).
 
Prohibits a bank holding company from possessing nondeposit liabilities exceeding 2% percent of the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States.
 
Authorizes the Board to: (1) set a separate liability limit for certain bank holding companies primarily engaged in the business of insurance; and (2) exclude specified deposits from its calculation of nondeposit liabilities if necessary to ensure consistent and equitable treatment of institutions with international operations.
 
Prohibits a financial company from possessing nondeposit liabilities exceeding 3% of the U.S. annual GDP.
 
Requires the Board to conduct, and report to Congress on, an annual capital assessment to estimate losses, revenues, and reserve needs for bank holding companies and financial companies.
 
Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a rule requiring certain issuers of securities to record all assets and liabilities on their balance sheets and all financings of assets for which the issuer has more than minimal economic risks or rewards.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-04-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2010-04-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2519, S2520, S2521)
action_date: 2010-04-21
text: Introduced in Senate