[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2503 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2503

To clarify the authority of States to regulate national bank insurance 
activity, to limit the authority of the Comptroller of the Currency to 
authorize national banks to engage in new insurance activities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 18, 1995

 Mr. Solomon (for himself, Mr. Burton, and Mr. McInnis) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking and 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To clarify the authority of States to regulate national bank insurance 
activity, to limit the authority of the Comptroller of the Currency to 
authorize national banks to engage in new insurance activities, 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 ``Bank Insurance Regulation Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY.

    (a) State Supervision.--Chapter 1 of Title LXII of the Revised 
Statutes of the United States (12 U.S.C. 21 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 5136A as section 5136B; and
            (2) by inserting after section 5136 (12 U.S.C. 24) the 
        following new section:

``SEC. 5136A. STATE SUPERVISION OF INSURANCE.

    ``(a) State Licensing of Insurance Activities.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), no provision 
        of section 5136, any other section of this title, or section 13 
        of the Federal Reserve Act may be construed as limiting or 
        otherwise impairing the authority of any State to regulate--
                    ``(A) the extent to which, and the manner in which, 
                a national bank may engage within the State in 
                insurance activities pursuant to section 13 of the 
                Federal Reserve Act;
                    ``(B) the manner in which a national bank may 
                engage within the State in insurance activities 
                pursuant to section 5136(b)(2)(B) of the Revised 
                Statutes of the United States; or
                    ``(C) the manner in which a national bank may 
                engage within the State in insurance activities 
                pursuant to section 5136(b)(2)(A) of the Revised 
                Statutes of the United States through, and limited to, 
                consumer disclosure requirements or licensing 
                requirements, procedures, and qualifications as 
                described in paragraph (2)(C).
            ``(2) Prohibition on state discrimination against national 
        banks.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) Providing insurance as agent or broker.--No 
                State may impose any insurance regulatory requirement 
                relating to providing insurance as an agent or broker 
                that treats a national bank differently than all other 
                persons who are authorized to provide insurance as 
                agents or brokers in such State, unless there is a 
                legitimate and reasonable State regulatory purpose for 
                the requirement for which there is no less restrictive 
                alternative.
                    ``(B) Providing insurance as principal, agent, or 
                broker.--
                            ``(i) No State may impose on a national 
                        bank any insurance regulatory requirement 
                        relating to providing insurance as principal, 
                        agent, or broker that treats the national bank 
                        more restrictively than any other depository 
                        institution (as defined in section 3(c)(1) of 
                        the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) operating in 
                        the State.
                            ``(ii) Nothing in this subparagraph shall 
                        affect the validity of a State law that--
                                    ``(I) prevents a national bank from 
                                engaging in insurance activities within 
                                the State to as great an extent as a 
                                savings association (as defined in 
                                section 3(b)(1) of the Federal Deposit 
                                Insurance Act) may engage in such 
                                activities within the State; and
                                    ``(II) was in effect on June 1, 
                                1995.
                    ``(C) Licensing qualifications and procedures.--No 
                State may discriminate against a national bank with 
                respect to the following requirements, procedures, and 
                qualifications as such requirements, procedures, and 
                qualifications relate to the authority of the national 
                bank to provide insurance in such State as an agent or 
                broker:
                            ``(i) License application and processing 
                        procedures.
                            ``(ii) Character, experience, and 
                        educational qualifications for licenses.
                            ``(iii) Testing and examination 
                        requirements for licenses.
                            ``(iv) Fee requirements for licenses.
                            ``(v) Continuing education requirements.
                            ``(vi) Types of licenses required.
                            ``(vii) Standards and requirements for 
                        renewal of licenses.
    ``(b) Authority of the Comptroller of the Currency.--A national 
bank may not provide insurance as a principal, agent, or broker except 
as specifically provided in this section, the paragraph designated as 
the `Seventh' of section 5136(a) of this chapter, or section 5136(b) of 
this chapter, or section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act.
    ``(c) Preservation of Federally Authorized Bank Activities in 
Permissive States.--No provision of this section may be construed as 
affecting the authority, pursuant to section 13 of the Federal Reserve 
Act, of a national bank to act as insurance agent or broker consistent 
with State law.
    ``(d) Preservation of National Bank Authority Consistent With State 
Bank Authority.--Except as provided in subsection (a)(2)(B), no 
provision of this section or section 5136(b)(1) shall have the effect 
of enabling a State to deny a national bank authority that the bank 
otherwise possesses to provide a product in a State, including as 
agent, broker, or principal, where the bank is not providing the 
product in the State other than to an extent and in a manner that a 
State bank (as defined in section 3(a)(2) of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Act) is permitted by the law of the State to provide such 
product, except that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as 
granting any new authority to a national bank to provide any product 
because the law of the State has authorized State banks to provide such 
product.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, section 5136, and 
section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act, the following definitions shall 
apply:
            ``(1) Insurance.--The term `insurance' means any product 
        defined or regulated as insurance, consistent with the relevant 
        State insurance law, by the insurance regulatory authority of 
        the State in which such product is sold, solicited, or 
        underwritten, including any annuity contract the income on 
        which is tax deferred under section 72 of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986.
            ``(2) State.--The term `State' has the same meaning as in 
        section 3(a)(3) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
    ``(f) Grandfather Provision.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any national bank which, before January 
        1, 1995, was providing insurance as agent or broker under 
        section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act may provide insurance as 
        an agent or broker under such section, to no less extent and in 
        a no more restrictive manner as such bank was providing 
        insurance as agent or broker under such section on January 1, 
        1995, notwithstanding contrary State law, subject to final, 
        controlling judgment in a pending action.
            ``(2) Termination.--This subsection shall cease to apply 
        with respect to any national bank described in paragraph (1) 
        if--
                    ``(A) the bank is subject to an acquisition, 
                merger, consolidation, or change in control, other than 
                a transaction to which section 18(c)(12) of the Federal 
                Deposit Insurance Act applies; or
                    ``(B) any bank holding company which directly or 
                indirectly controls such bank is subject to an 
                acquisition, merger, consolidation, or change in 
                control, other than a transaction in which the 
                beneficial ownership of such bank holding company or of 
                a bank holding company which controls such company does 
                not change as a result of the transaction.''.
    (b) Interpretive Authority of the Comptroller of the Currency.--
Section 5136 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (12 U.S.C. 
24) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Upon duly making and filing articles of 
        association'' and inserting ``(a) In General.--Upon duly making 
        and filing articles of association''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Interpretive Authority of the Comptroller of the Currency.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), it shall not 
        be incidental to banking for a national bank to provide 
        insurance as a principal, agent, or broker.
            ``(2) Scope of application.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
        it shall be incidental to banking for a national bank to engage 
        in the following activities:
                    ``(A) Providing, as an agent or broker, any annuity 
                contract the income on which is tax deferred under 
                section 72 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
                    ``(B) Providing, as a principal, agent, or broker, 
                any type of insurance, other than an annuity or title 
                insurance, which the Comptroller of the Currency 
                specifically determined, before May 1, 1995, to be 
                incidental to banking with respect to national 
                banks.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) The 11th undesignated paragraph of section 13 of the 
        Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 92) is amended by inserting ``, 
        and subject to section 5136A of the Revised Statutes of the 
        United States,'' after ``the laws of the United States''.
            (2) The paragraph designated the ``Seventh'' of section 
        5136 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (12 U.S.C. 
        24) is amended by striking ``subject to law,'' and inserting 
        ``subject to subsection (b), section 5136A, and any other 
        provision of law,''.
            (3) Section 1306 of title 18, United States Code, is 
        amended by striking ``5136A'' and inserting ``5136B''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 1 of 
title LXII of the Revised Statutes of the United States is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the item relating to section 5136A as 
        section 5136B; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 5136 
        the following new item:

``5136A. State supervision of insurance.''.
    (e) Preservation of Bank Holding Company Insurance Authority.--No 
provision of this section, and no amendment made by this section to any 
other provision of law, may be construed as affecting the authority of 
a bank holding company to engage in insurance agency activity pursuant 
to section 4(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956.
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