Date: 1987-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. today we are considering a vital piece of legislationthe conferencereported bill. H.R. 27. the Competitive Equality Banking Act of It can be said that the value of any legislation can be gauged by the direct and immediate impact and benefit it will have on the American consumer. The least mentioned portions of the bill dealing with expedited funds availability. the congressional declaration .eaffirming full faith and credit in federally insured depository institutions. the title allowing loan loss amortization for agricultural banks. the requirement of a study on Government check cashing. and the title relating to the depositors of Golden Pacific National Bank demonstrate the unique compassion of the House In fashioning consumeroriented legislation. The expedited funds availability title..title VI. which requires depository institutions to make funds available within certain set prescribed periods of time. is hopefully about to become law. It has been conservatively estimated that banks make $290 million per year on the float and $3.4 billion per year in fees for checks returnedfor insufficient fundsclearly. the consumer needs a break here from the use of their hardearned funds by banks playing the float game. The time has finally arrived to enact this long overdue title of the bill. Title IX. relating to a reaffirmation of the full faith and credit of Congress for deposits in federally insured depository institutions. is as important as any provision in this legislation. I believe it will go far in allaying the fears of any person concerning the safety of deposits in savings and loan institutions. The House and the Senate -passed similar language in the form of a concurrent resolution in 1982. Title VIII. loan loss amortization for agricultural banks. has been considered by the Banking Committee in the last two Congresses. It is a recovery provision for agricultural banks. comparable. in effect. to the recovery title for savings and loans. It will help alleviate the difficulties in the agricultural sectors of the economy for any bank that can demonstrate that its difficulties are primarily attributable to economic problems beyond the control of management. Originally a requirement to cash Government checks. controversy surrounding title X has been alleviated by the substitution of a study for the Senates mandatory provisions. I was disappointed that a consensus has still not emerged for a government check cashing requirement. And finally. the depositors at the former Golden Pacific National Bank who held socalled yellow certificates of deposit are to at last be given interest on these deposits. They waited for 16 months after the closing of the Bank before being paid off by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions held emotional hearings in 1985 and heard testimony by the use of Interpreters from nonEnglishspeaking ChineseAmerican depositors of that Bankan example of an interest group not often heard from by the committee but. certainly. no less deserving than our other witnesses. Unfortunately. many Members of Congress have been or will be told that the House conferees caved in completely to the Senate. and that most of the items contained in this legislation have never been considered previously by either the House Banking Committee or the full House. This statement is not correct. At least 7 of the 12 titles of the bill have previously been dealt with by the House Banking Committee or the full House. Other titles of the bill concerning nonbank banks. the moratorium on the expansion of bank activities in insurance. real estate and securities. the FSLIC recap. forbearance for wellmanaged. viable savings and loans. and the regulators bill are all familiar and understood subjects by virtue of previous congressional action.