A bill to require a Government Accountability Office examination of transactions between large financial institutions and the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

Bill: 112-s-3709
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2012-12-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Congressional oversight
Financial crises and stabilization
Government lending and loan guarantees
Housing finance and home ownership
Insurance industry and regulation
Securities

Summary:
action_date: 2012-12-21
text: 
Directs the Comptroller General to examine any financial company having more than $500 billion in consolidated assets (covered institution) with respect to:
 
 
favorable pricing of its debt relative to its risk profile resulting from the perception it will receive federal support in the event of any financial stress;
 
any favorable funding or economic treatment resulting from an increase in its credit rating as a result of express, implied, or perceived federal support;
 
any economic benefit resulting from the ownership of, or affiliation with, an insured depository institution;
 
any economic benefit resulting from its status as a bank holding company, including access to federal deposit insurance and the discount window of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) before enactment of this Act;
 
any economic benefit received through extraordinary federal actions taken, such as specified actions by the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC);
 
any extraordinary assistance provided to American Insurance Group (AIG), but ultimately received by one of the covered institutions; and
 
any government actions that resulted in the payment or nonpayment of credit default swap contracts entered into by a covered institution.
 

action_date: 2012-12-21
text: 
(Sec. 1) Directs the Comptroller General to study any bank holding company having more than $500 billion in consolidated assets (covered institution) with respect to:
 
 
favorable pricing of its debt relative to its risk profile resulting from the perception it will receive federal support in the event of any financial stress;
 
any favorable funding or economic treatment resulting from an increase in its credit rating as a result of express, implied, or perceived federal support;
 
any economic benefit resulting from the ownership of, or affiliation with, an insured depository institution;
 
any economic benefit resulting from its status as a bank holding company, including access to federal deposit insurance and the discount window of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) before enactment of this Act;
 
any economic benefit received through extraordinary federal actions taken, such as specified actions by the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC);
 
any extraordinary assistance provided to American Insurance Group (AIG), but ultimately received by one of the covered institutions; and
 
any government actions that resulted in the payment or nonpayment of credit default swap contracts entered into by a covered institution.
 
 
Defines &quot;economic benefit&quot; as the difference between actual loan terms offered, debt or equity prices, or asset values and a reasonable estimate of what such terms, prices, or values might have been as determined by examining actual values of comparable transactions in the private markets or by estimating the values of comparable transactions priced to properly reflect associated risk.
 
(Sec. 2) Requires the resulting report to Congress to redact any proprietary, sensitive, or confidential information in any release subsequently made electronically available to the public. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-12-27
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
action_date: 2012-12-27
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2012-12-27
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2012-12-21
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2012-12-21
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2012-12-21
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S8378-8379)
action_date: 2012-12-21
text: Introduced in the Senate, read twice.
action_date: 2012-12-21
text: Introduced in Senate