[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5758 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5758

 To provide requirements for the appropriate Federal banking agencies 
  when requesting or ordering a depository institution to terminate a 
   specific customer account, to provide for additional requirements 
 related to subpoenas issued under the Financial Institutions Reform, 
     Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 20, 2014

 Mr. Luetkemeyer (for himself, Mr. Murphy of Florida, Mr. Hastings of 
  Florida, and Mr. Stivers) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide requirements for the appropriate Federal banking agencies 
  when requesting or ordering a depository institution to terminate a 
   specific customer account, to provide for additional requirements 
 related to subpoenas issued under the Financial Institutions Reform, 
     Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, 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 ``Financial Institution Customer 
Protection Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR DEPOSIT ACCOUNT TERMINATION REQUESTS AND 
              ORDERS.

    (a) Termination Requests or Orders Must Be Material.--
            (1) In general.--An appropriate Federal banking agency may 
        not suggest, request, or order a depository institution to 
        terminate a specific customer account or to otherwise restrict 
        or discourage a depository institution from entering into or 
        maintaining a banking relationship with a specific customer 
        unless--
                    (A) the agency has a material reason for such 
                suggestion, request, or order; and
                    (B) such reason is not based solely on reputation 
                risk.
            (2) Treatment of national security threats.--If an 
        appropriate Federal banking agency believes a specific customer 
        poses a threat to national security, including any belief that 
        such customer is involved in terrorist financing, such belief 
        shall satisfy the materiality requirement under paragraph 
        (1)(A).
            (3) Rulemaking.--Not later than the end of the 60-day 
        period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        appropriate Federal banking agencies shall, jointly, issue 
        regulations defining the term ``reputation risk'' for purposes 
        of this section.
    (b) Notice Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--If an appropriate Federal banking agency 
        suggests, requests, or orders a depository institution to 
        terminate a specific customer account, the agency shall--
                    (A) provide such suggestion, request, or order to 
                the institution in writing; and
                    (B) accompany such suggestion, request, or order 
                with a justification for why such termination is 
                needed, including any specific laws or regulations the 
                agency believes are being violated by the customer, if 
                any.
            (2) Justification requirement.--A justification described 
        under paragraph (1)(B) may not be based solely on the 
        reputation risk to the depository institution.
    (c) Customer Notice.--
            (1) Notice not required.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        construed as requiring a depository institution or an 
        appropriate Federal banking agency to inform a customer of the 
        justification for the customer's account termination described 
        under subsection (b).
            (2) Notice prohibited in cases of national security.--If an 
        appropriate Federal banking agency suggests, requests, or 
        orders a depository institution to terminate a specific 
        customer account based on a belief that the customer poses a 
        threat to national security, neither the depository institution 
        nor the appropriate Federal banking agency may inform the 
        customer of the justification for the customer's account 
        termination.
    (d) Reporting Requirement.--Each appropriate Federal banking agency 
shall issue an annual report to the Congress stating--
            (1) the aggregate number of specific customer accounts that 
        the agency suggested, requested, or ordered a depository 
        institution to terminate during the previous year; and
            (2) the legal authority under which the agency made such 
        suggestions, requests, and orders.
    (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) Appropriate federal banking agency.--The term 
        ``appropriate Federal banking agency'' means--
                    (A) the appropriate Federal banking agency, as 
                defined under section 3 of the Federal Deposit 
                Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); and
                    (B) the National Credit Union Administration, in 
                the case of an insured credit union.
            (2) Depository institution.--The term ``depository 
        institution'' means--
                    (A) a depository institution, as defined under 
                section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 
                U.S.C. 1813); and
                    (B) an insured credit union.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REFORM, RECOVERY, AND 
              ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1989.

    Section 951 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and 
Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1833a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``affecting'' and 
        inserting ``by or against''; and
            (2) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in the header, by striking ``Subpoenas'' and 
                inserting ``Investigations''; and
                    (B) by amending paragraph (1)(C) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(C) summon witnesses and require the production 
                of any books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, or 
                other records which the Attorney General deems relevant 
                or material to the inquiry, if the Attorney General--
                            ``(i) requests a court order from a court 
                        of competent jurisdiction for such actions and 
                        offers specific and articulable facts showing 
                        that there are reasonable grounds to believe 
                        that the information or testimony sought is 
                        relevant and material for conducting an 
                        investigation under this section; or
                            ``(ii) either personally or through 
                        delegation no lower than the Deputy Attorney 
                        General, issues and signs a subpoena for such 
                        actions and has reasonable grounds to believe 
                        that the information or testimony sought is 
                        relevant for conducting an investigation under 
                        this section.''.
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