[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5180 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5180

To amend the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to restore the separation 
   between banking and commerce by prohibiting bank holding company 
       ownership of non-financial assets, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 2019

 Mr. Garcia of Illinois (for himself, Ms. Tlaib, and Ms. Jackson Lee) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to restore the separation 
   between banking and commerce by prohibiting bank holding company 
       ownership of non-financial assets, 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 ``Protecting Consumers from Market 
Manipulation Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN LARGE NON-FINANCIAL COMPANIES WITH 
              RESPECT TO ACTIVITIES THAT ARE FINANCIAL IN NATURE.

    (a) In General.--A large non-financial company that is not 
registered as a bank holding company may not (either directly or 
indirectly, or through a subsidiary) engage in activities that are 
financial in nature if engaging in such activities would result in such 
activities producing the lower of--
            (1) 5 percent of the revenue of the large non-financial 
        company; or
            (2) $1,000,000,000 in revenue.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Activities that are financial in nature.--The term 
        ``activities that are financial in nature'' has the meaning 
        given that term under section 4(k)(4) of the Bank Holding 
        Company Act of 1956.
            (2) Bank holding company.--The term ``bank holding 
        company'' has the meaning given that term under section 2 of 
        the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956.
            (3) Large non-financial company.--The term ``large non-
        financial company'' means a company that--
                    (A) has annual revenues of more than 
                $5,000,000,000; and
                    (B) is not predominantly engaged in financial 
                activities (as such term is defined under section 102 
                of the Financial Stability Act of 2010).
            (4) Subsidiary.--The term ``subsidiary'' has the meaning 
        given that term under section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act 
        of 1956.

SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON COMMODITY OWNERSHIP AND REPEAL OF THE MERCHANT 
              BANKING AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Section 4 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 
(12 U.S.C. 1843) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``(by regulation 
                or order)'' and inserting ``, by regulation'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in the heading, by inserting ``and the 
                        federal deposit insurance corporation'' after 
                        ``treasury''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Joint determination with the federal deposit 
                insurance corporation.--For purposes of paragraph (1), 
                the Board may only make a determination that an 
                activity is complementary to a financial activity and 
                does not pose a substantial risk to the safety or 
                soundness of depository institutions or the financial 
                system generally, if such determination is made 
                jointly, by rule, with the Federal Deposit Insurance 
                Corporation.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by striking subparagraph (H); and
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as 
                        subparagraph (H); and
                    (D) by striking paragraph (7);
            (2) in subsection (l)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection (k), 
                (n), or (o)'' each place such term appears and 
                inserting ``subsection (k) or (n)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``subparagraph 
                (H) or (I)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (H)'';
            (3) in subsection (m)(1)(A), by striking ``subsection (k), 
        (n), or (o)'' and inserting ``subsection (k) or (n)'';
            (4) in subsection (n)(5), by striking ``subparagraph (H) or 
        (I)'' each place such term appears and inserting ``subparagraph 
        (H)''; and
            (5) by striking subsection (o).
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3(a)(4)(B)(vi) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(4)(B)(vi)) is amended by 
striking ``other than'' and all that follows through the end and 
inserting ``other than a registered broker or dealer.''.
    (c) Rulemaking.--The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System shall--
            (1) issue rules to carry out the amendments made by this 
        section; and
            (2) provide for an appropriate transition period before 
        persons are required to comply with the amendments made by this 
        section, including allowing for the divestment of shares, 
        assets, and ownership interests affected by such amendments.

SEC. 4. DIGITAL CURRENCY STUDIES.

    (a) FSOC Study.--The Financial Stability Oversight Council shall 
carry out a study, and issue a report to Congress that--
            (1) examines the financial stability implications of 
        digital currency; and
            (2) determines whether digital currencies should be 
        designated as designated financial market utilities under title 
        VIII of the Payment, Clearing, and Settlement Supervision Act 
        of 2010.
    (b) Federal Reserve Study.--The Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System shall carry out a study and issue a report to Congress 
that--
            (1) examines the monetary policy and monetary sovereignty 
        implications of digital currency; and
            (2) proposes a framework for supervising any digital 
        currency that is designated as a designated financial market 
        utility under title VIII of the Payment, Clearing, and 
        Settlement Supervision Act of 2010.
    (c) Digital Currency Defined.--In this section, the term ``digital 
currency'' means a digital representation of value that--
            (1) can be digitally traded;
            (2) functions as--
                    (A) a medium of exchange;
                    (B) a unit of account; or
                    (C) a store of value;
            (3) does not have legal tender status (i.e., when tendered 
        to a creditor, is a valid and legal offer of payment) in any 
        jurisdiction;
            (4) is not issued nor guaranteed by any jurisdiction;
            (5) fulfils the functions described under paragraph (2) 
        only by agreement within the community of users of the virtual 
        currency;
            (6) is not sovereign currency (also known as ``real 
        currency'', ``real money'', or ``national currency''), which is 
        the coin and paper money of a country that is designated as its 
        legal tender, circulates, and is customarily used and accepted 
        as a medium of exchange in the issuing country; and
            (7) is not e-money, which is a digital representation of 
        sovereign currency used to electronically transfer value 
        denominated in sovereign currency and is a digital transfer 
        mechanism for sovereign currency (meaning that it 
        electronically transfers value that has legal tender status).
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