[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 5, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H14174-H14176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PRESERVING AND EXPANDING MINORITY DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS ACT
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 4043) to amend the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and
Enforcement Act of 1989 to preserve and expand minority depository
institutions, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4043
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 ``Preserving and Expanding
Minority Depository Institutions Act''.
SEC. 2. PRESERVING AND EXPANDING MINORITY DEPOSITORY
INSTITUTIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 308(a) of the Financial
Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989
(12 U.S.C. 1463(a) nt.) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``the Chairman of the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the
Currency'' after ``consult with''; and
(2) by inserting a comma after ``Thrift Supervision''.
(b) Report.--Section 308 of the Financial Institutions
Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463
nt.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(c) Reports.--The Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the
Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of
Thrift Supervision, and the Chairperson of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation shall each submit an annual
report to the Congress containing a description of actions
taken to carry out this section.''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Effective upon the
enactment of subsection (b), section 3(g)(2) of the Home
Owners' Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1462a(g)(2)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(2) [Repealed].''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Watt) and the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs.
Capito) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on this legislation and to insert extraneous materials thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I submit for the Record a letter dated November 1, 2007, from the
National Bankers Association in support of this legislation.
National Bankers Association,
Washington, DC, November 1, 2007.
Hon. Melvin Watt, Chairman,
Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Oversight and
Investigations,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Watt: On behalf of the National Bankers
Association (NBA) (the voice of minority banks since 1927),
its board and membership, thank you for taking the time to
hold a hearing of the Subcommittee on Government Oversight
and Investigations of the Committee on Financial Services on
behalf of the nation's women and minority-owned banks. We
appreciate your continued support of our banks. We are
especially proud that the Financial Services Committee staff
invited the National Bankers Association to participate in
this important hearing. We support your idea of a joint
hearing with the Ways & Means Committee on the CDFI and New
Markets Tax Credits Programs.
NBA supports the revision of the ``Preserving and Expanding
Minority Depository Institutions Act'' H.R. 4043 to include
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal
Reserve along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
and the Office of Thrift Supervision in the legislation.
We also appreciate you taking the time out of your busy
schedule every year to participate in NBA's Annual
Legislative Summit. Your support has given NBA an elevated
level of attention by other congressional members and bank
regulators.
Again, many thanks.
Respectfully submitted,
The National Bankers Association Board of Directors:
Floyd Weekes, Chairman, Executive Vice President, Citizens
Bank, Nashville, TN.
James E. Young, Past-Chairman, President & CEO, Citizens
Trust Bank, Atlanta, GA.
Robert P. Cooper, Chairman-Elect, Senior Counsel, OneUnited
Bank, Boston, MA.
Tommy Brooks, Treasurer, Executive Vice President & CFO,
Unity National Bank, Houston, TX.
Cynthia Day, Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, Citizens
Trust Bank, Atlanta, GA.
Norma Alexander Hart, President, NBA, Washington, DC.
Mark Ronan, Corporate Advisory Board Chairman, Director of
Banking Relations, American Express Company, NY.
Sidney King, Regional Vice Chairman, President & CEO,
Commonwealth National Bank, Mobile, AL.
Stanley Weekes, Regional Vice Chairman, Executive Vice
President & CCO, City National Bank of New Jersey.
Arlene Williams, Regional Vice Chairman, Senior Vice
President, Seaway National Bank, Chicago, IL.
Steve Holt, Regional Vice Chairman, President and CEO, One
World Bank, Dallas, TX.
Tony James, Associate-Affiliate President, Senior Vice
President, ICBA Securities.
Deloris Sims, Board Member, President & CEO, Legacy Bank,
Milwaukee, WI.
Nativido Lozano, III, Board Member, Vice President,
International Bank of Commerce, Laredo, TX.
James Ballentine, Board Member, Director, Grassroots
Advocacy, American Bankers Association, Washington, DC.
Viveca Ware, Board Member, Director, of Payments &
Technology Policy, Independent Community Bankers of America,
Washington, DC.
And, The following members from the 52 membership of the
National Bankers Association:
Broadway Federal Bank, Los Angeles, CA;
Unity National Bank, Houston, TX;
People's Bank of Seneca, Seneca, MO;
United Americas Bank, Atlanta, GA;
Seaway National Bank, Chicago, IL;
First State Bank, Danville, VA;
First Independence Bank, Detroit, MI;
OneUnited Bank, Boston, MA;
Commonwealth National Bank, Mobile, AL;
OneWorld Bank, Dallas, TX;
Citizens Trust Bank, Atlanta, GA;
Citizens Bank, Nashville, TN;
Mutual Community Savings Bank, Durham, NC;
Mechanic & Farmers, Durham, NC;
Saigon National Bank, Westminster, CA;
United Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA;
Liberty Bank & Trust, New Orleans LA;
Industrial Bank, Washington, DC.
Mr. Speaker, allow me to start today by expressing the collective
condolences of the members of the Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee to our ranking
member, Representative Gary Miller, following the death of his
daughter. Representative Miller was an original cosponsor with me of
the legislation we are considering, H.R. 4043, and he and his staff
encouraged us to proceed with consideration of the bill today when we
offered to withdraw it from the calendar and wait until he returns to
Congress following the sudden death of his daughter.
I am deeply indebted to Representative Miller for the cordial manner
in which he has worked with me as the ranking member of our
subcommittee, for his support of H.R. 4043 to ensure that this
important legislation is considered in the bipartisan way it deserves,
and for his encouragement to us
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to proceed with consideration of this important bill so it will not be
delayed. All of us wish Representative Miller the very best as he and
his family try to cope with a loss that we know is devastating to him.
Representative Miller's absence under these circumstances casts a
significant pall on our consideration of this bill, but we must
proceed, and I am happy to do so with his approval.
Minority-owned banks and thrifts comprise about 2 percent of all
banks, thrifts, and banking assets in the United States. Under section
308 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act,
the Secretary of the Treasury is required to consult with the Chair of
the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and
the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision on methods to achieve
the following five goals:
One, preserving existing minority banks; two, preserving the minority
character of these institutions in cases involving mergers or
acquisitions of minority banks; three, providing technical assistance
to prevent the insolvency of existing minority institutions that are
not insolvent; four, promoting and encouraging the creation of new
minority banks; and, five, providing for training, technical
assistance, and educational programs to assist minority banking
institutions.
The requirement for consultation between the Secretary of the
Treasury, the FDIC, and the OTS has been on the books since the passage
of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act in
1989, and the Office of Thrift Supervision has been required to submit
an annual report to Congress describing actions taken to achieve these
five goals that help preserve and expand minority banks.
On October 30, 2007, our Financial Services Oversight and
Investigations Subcommittee, which I am privileged to chair, held a
hearing about a report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability
Office in October of 2006 that reviewed Federal banking regulators'
efforts to promote these five goals. This report, entitled ``Minority
Banks: Regulators Need To Better Assess Effectiveness of Support
Efforts,'' found that, despite recommendations contained in a similar
1993 Government Accountability Office report, none of the Federal
banking regulators have routinely surveyed institutions within their
jurisdiction to assess the effectiveness of the regulators' support
efforts to minority banks nor have the regulators systematically
established outcome-oriented performance measures to gauge the
effectiveness or results of the regulators' efforts. In short, the
efforts being taken by the regulators to preserve and promote minority
banks appeared modest, and whether the efforts are being effective
could not be ascertained. The regulators were taking some steps, but
there were no outcome measures to judge their effectiveness. Indeed, if
the number and strength of minority financial institutions since 1989
is a barometer, the efforts of the regulators appear not to be having
the positive results we desire.
H.R. 4043 would, in effect, increase the pressure on and transparency
of the regulators' efforts by requiring all of them, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision, to
submit an annual report to Congress on their efforts to implement the
goals outlined in section 308 of FIRREA, the goals of preserving and
supporting and promoting minority businesses.
At the subcommittee hearing, all the regulators acknowledged that
they could and should be doing more and indicated that they do not
object to a statutory change to expand the goals of section 308 of
FIRREA to their agencies. In addition, witnesses from the FDIC, the
Federal Reserve, and the OCC indicated that they do not object to being
obligated to prepare and submit to Congress an annual report describing
their efforts to promote and preserve minority depository institutions.
H.R. 4043 requires this, and I encourage my colleagues to support the
bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 4043, the Preserving and Expanding Minority
Depository Institutions Act of 2007. This bipartisan legislation,
introduced by Chairman Watt and Ranking Member Miller of the Financial
Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is intended to
support our Nation's minority banks. The bill includes new reporting
requirements which will help gauge the effectiveness of government
programs that assist minority banks. Like other community banks,
minority banks may confront unique challenges because of their smaller
size.
Section 308 of FIRREA, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery
and Enforcement Act of 1989, mandates that the FDIC in conjunction with
the Office of Thrift Supervision work to preserve existing minority
banks, promote the creation of new minority banks, and provide
technical assistance and training. Although not required to do so, the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve also
provide assistance to minority banks.
H.R. 4043 will codify the advisory role of the OCC and the Federal
Reserve by expanding section 308 of FIRREA to include both of these
agencies. Additionally, the legislation directs all four banking
regulators to report annually to Congress on their efforts to preserve,
promote, and assist minority banks.
At an October 30 Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on
minority banks, the OCC and Federal Reserve did not object to being
covered by section 308 of FIRREA, and all four regulators stated that
they would also not object to the annual reporting requirement since
most of them already include minority bank information in reports they
currently submit to Congress.
At that same hearing, the subcommittee heard testimony that many of
the regulators' programs are underutilized by the minority banks they
are designed to help. According to a report issued by the Government
Accountability Office last year, most of the banks that did participate
found these programs very, very useful. Minority banks should be
encouraged to use any and all the tools provided to them by the Federal
regulators.
I, too, join with my colleague Congressman Watt in extending our deep
sympathy and great caring for our colleague Congressman Miller while
he's going through the tragedy in his family. We miss him here, but his
imprint is being felt through this legislation today, and we wish him
God's help in dealing with this crisis.
{time} 1245
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time.
Let me conclude, then, by just expressing our sincere thanks to our
colleagues on the Republican side and to all of the members of the
staff for their work on this bill. We think it is a good bill. It is a
bipartisan effort to increase transparency and information to Congress
and to promote the expansion and preservation of minority financial
institutions, all of which we think is good. I encourage my colleagues
to support the bill.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
H.R. 4043, the ``Preserving and Expanding Minority Depository
Institutions Act''. Minority-owned financial institutions are vitally
important to the economic development and revitalization of urban and
minority communities. Businesses and residents in these traditionally
underserved communities rely on minority-owned financial institutions
to serve their banking and other financial services needs. They have
always been there when we needed them--making homeownership a reality
for many for whom homeownership was elusive, providing capital for the
neighborhood grocery and barber shop, financing housing rehabilitation,
providing consumer credit counseling services, providing jobs, and
revitalizing communities.
However, minority-owned financial institutions face many challenges.
By and large much smaller than other banks, minority banks have
difficulty competing with larger institutions for deposits and other
business. It is often difficult to diversify their geographical and
credit risk exposures. They also face challenges associated with
operating in economically depressed markets.
Despite these challenges, minority-owned financial institutions are
committed to providing
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capital, promoting economic revitalization, and creating jobs. They are
committed to serving the urban and minority communities in which they
are located and the people and businesses that reside there. We need
them.
Minority-owned financial institutions comprise only about two percent
of all financial institutions and a significantly lower percentage of
total industry assets. We must do all that we can to support, protect
and promote these institutions.
This bill, H.R. 4043, the Preserving and Expanding Minority
Depository Institutions Act, is an important step. Existing law
requires that the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) consult with the Department of the
Treasury on methods to preserve, encourage and promote minority
ownership of depository institutions and provide technical assistance,
training and education programs.
H.R. 4043 would direct the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System and the Comptroller of the Currency to help
preserve, encourage and expand minority-owned financial institutions by
participating in those activities. In addition, the bill would require
each of the participating agencies to submit an annual report to the
Congress on actions taken to implement the law.
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On Page H14176, December 05, 2007, the following appeared: Mr.
WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The online version should be corrected to read: Mr. WATT. Mr.
Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
========================= END NOTE =========================
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4043, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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