Womack, Himes, Delaney, Wagner Reintroduce Bipartisan Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act

Statement

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) into law. Among other things, the bill raised the shareholder registration threshold from 500 to 2,000 and increased the deregistration threshold from 300 to 1,200 for banks and bank holding companies. Unfortunately, the JOBS Act did not explicitly extend the thresholds to savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs). However, it was not the intention of Congress to treat SLHCs differently from bank and bank holding companies.

The Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act of 2015, reintroduced by Representatives Steve Womack (R-AR-3), Jim Himes (D-CT-4), John Delaney (D-MD-6), and Ann Wagner (R-MO-2), extends the shareholder registration thresholds to SLHCs that the JOBS Act established for banks and bank holding companies. Originally introduced as H.R. 801 during the 113th Congress, the bill passed the House on January 14, 2014, by a vote of 417-4. In the 114th Congress, the text of the Holding Company Registration Threshold Equalization Act passed the House on January 14, 2015, as Title III of H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act by a vote of 271-154.

Upon introduction, the sponsors released the following statements:

"I am proud to lead the bipartisan effort to grant our nation's 600 small savings and loan holding companies the same flexibility afforded to bank and bank holding companies so they can better serve their communities and enable job creation and economic growth," said Womack. "This bill has proven bipartisan support, and I am hopeful that in this new Congress, it will finally be signed into law."

"This legislation will ensure savings and loan institutions operate under the same rules as local banks," Himes said. "This will help S&Ls raise capital so they have the resources to make the loans consumers need to purchase homes, cars, and other large items they are more likely to finance than buy outright. As we continue to seek ways to spur job creation, we should do everything we can to stimulate the consumer demand that is vital to a robust economy."

"I am pleased to sponsor this legislation so that Congress can help increase lending and investment in our economy," said Wagner. "It is crucial that we enable banks of all sizes to focus more time on serving their customers than they do on complying with red tape. Increasing the ability of these institutions to lend will in turn increase economic activity in Missouri and around the country."

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