Policyholder Protection Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-798
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-03-19
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Bank accounts, deposits, capital

Banking and financial institutions regulation

Bankruptcy

Federal Reserve System

Financial crises and stabilization

Insurance industry and regulation
Latest action: action_date: 2015-04-30
text: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-03-19
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Policyholder Protection Act of 2015</b></p> <p> Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to declare that any regulation, order, or other action of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System that requires a bank holding company to provide funds or other assets to a subsidiary depository institution shall not be effective nor enforceable with respect to an entity that is a savings and loan holding company that is also an insurance company, an affiliate of an insured depository institution that is an insurance company, or any other company that is an insurance company and that directly or indirectly controls an insured depository institution if: (1) such funds or assets are to be provided by the entity, and (2) the state insurance authority for the insurance company determines that such an action would have a materially adverse effect on the entity's financial condition.<br /><br />Declares that requiring a bank holding company that is an insurance company or such an entity to serve as a source of financial strength shall be deemed the kind of action of the Board to which this Act applies. </p> <p>Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, with respect to systemic risk determination and the treatment of insurance companies and their subsidiaries, to authorize the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to stand in the place of the appropriate regulatory agency and file a judicial action to place such companies into orderly rehabilitation under state law if the appropriate regulatory agency has not done so.</p> <p>Requires the FDIC, when funding the orderly liquidation of an insurance company or its subsidiary, to notify the relevant state insurance authority promptly of its intention to take a lien on the company's assets.</p> <p>Prohibits the FDIC from taking such a lien if the state insurance authority informs it that doing so would have a materially adverse effect upon the insurance company's policyholders.

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 798 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 19, 2015 Mr. Vitter (for himself and Mr. Tester ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide for notice to, and input by, State insurance commissioners when requiring an insurance company to serve as a source of financial strength or when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation places a lien against an insurance company’s assets, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Policyholder Protection Act of 2015 . 2. Source of strength Section 38A of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1831o–1 ) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following: (c) Authority of State Insurance Regulator (1) In general The provisions of section 5(g) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 ( 12 U.S.C. 1844(g) ) shall apply to a savings and loan holding company that is an insurance company, an affiliate of an insured depository institution that is an insurance company, and to any other company that is an insurance company and that directly or indirectly controls an insured depository institution, to the same extent as such section 5(g) applies to a bank holding company that is an insurance company. (2) Rule of construction Requiring a bank holding company that is an insurance company, a savings and loan holding company that is an insurance company, an affiliate of an insured depository institution that is an insurance company, or any other company that is an insurance company and that directly or indirectly controls an insured depository institution to serve as a source of financial strength under this section shall be deemed an action of the Board that requires a bank holding company to provide funds or other assets to a subsidiary depository institution for purposes of such section 5(g). . 3. Liquidation authority The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ( 12 U.S.C. 5301 et seq. ) is amended— (1) in section 203(e)(3), by inserting or rehabilitation after orderly liquidation each place such term appears; and (2) in section 204(d)(4), by inserting before the semicolon the following: , except that, if the covered financial company or covered subsidiary is an insurance company or a subsidiary of an insurance company, the Corporation— (A) shall promptly notify the State insurance authority for the insurance company of the intention to take such lien; and (B) may not take such lien if the State insurance authority notified under subparagraph (A) informs the Corporation, in writing, within 15 days of such notice, that the taking of the lien on the assets of such company would have a materially adverse effect on the policyholders of such company .