H.R. 8643: Financial Access Protection Act

This bill, known as the Financial Access Protection Act, proposes several key provisions regarding how covered financial institutions handle information related to consumers' citizenship and immigration status.

Key Provisions

The bill includes the following main stipulations:

1. Prohibition on Information Collection

• Covered financial institutions cannot require consumers to disclose their citizenship or immigration status when they are trying to open or maintain an account or access any financial services.
• These institutions are also forbidden from requesting, collecting, recording, retaining, or obtaining any information about a consumer's citizenship or immigration status.
• Additionally, they cannot share or disclose any information regarding a consumer's citizenship or immigration status with federal or other governmental entities.

2. Regulatory Actions

• Federal banking agencies are not permitted to require or encourage covered financial institutions to collect or maintain citizenship or immigration status information.
• Furthermore, such agencies cannot base supervisory ratings or any enforcement decisions on whether an institution collects information on citizenship or immigration status.

3. Enforcement and Definitions

Each relevant federal banking agency is tasked with enforcing the rules set out in this bill with respect to covered financial institutions. The term "covered financial institution" is broadly defined to include:

• Insured depository institutions (such as traditional banks).
• Insured credit unions.
• Consumer reporting agencies.
• National banks and federal savings associations.
• State member banks and state nonmember banks.
• Bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies.
• Any subsidiaries or affiliates of these institutions that are subject to federal supervision.

4. Relationship to Existing Laws

The bill makes it clear that it does not change any existing obligations financial institutions have under the Bank Secrecy Act or any other federal, state, or local laws regulating reporting related to financial crimes, including money laundering or terrorist financing.

Relevant Companies

None found.